A recent study published in the Journal of Fish Biology highlights that the country's aquatic ecosystems are seriously threatened, and conditions are worsening.

Ecuador is the world’s biggest exporter of balsa wood, most of it shipped to China. Indigenous communities in Ecuador’s Pastaza River Basin say balsa is being logged illegally in their territories and is damaging the ecological integrity of the region and hurting Indigenous communities.  The problem has reportedly spread to neighboring Peru, where Indigenous communities accuse Ecuadoran balsa loggers of felling commercially valuable trees and even kidnapping a child.

During the presidential term of Lenín Moreno, whose term ended in May, the Attorney General's Office had to create a specialized Task Force to be able to process and carry out investigations into alleged illegal acts related to the acquisition of products for the health emergency. As part of the cross-border project 'Watch the pandemic,' the following report details several of the emblematic cases, involving officials, businessmen and even the children of former Ecuadorian President Abdalá Bucaram.