A/HRC/4/32/Add.2 page 14 41. In 1995, the Organization of American States (OAS) suggested that the Government of Ecuador establish special measures to protect the Tagaeri-Taromenani. According to information received by the Special Rapporteur, by 2006, the State had not fully complied with these recommendations or with the provisions contained in the 1999 executive decree that established the “untouchable” area, in which all types of extractive activities were prohibited. The Government is continuing to award oil concessions in “untouchable” land and permit the removal of timber species prohibited under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). D. Páramos (heathlands) in the Andean region 42. Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian highlands have a long history of harmonious and productive integration with the environment. Their traditional forms of social and economic organization have enabled them to maintain a rural survival economy and satisfy their basic needs for many generations. This balance has been lost in recent decades because of growing environmental degradation and demographic pressure on natural resources. 43. Environmental degradation in the Andean heathlands has affected the living conditions of the Quechua highland communities, in addition to their water, soil and forests. The heathlands, a highly fragile ecosystem, are essential for water conservation, but are threatened, along with the communities who form part of this habitat. “Ecological corridors” have been created for conservation, with participation from non-governmental and private international organizations. Regional indigenous organizations are calling for the right to be full participants in conservation and of forestation projects, demanding that the Government enact the corresponding legislation. Depletion of water sources in the heathlands is a severe problem for communities. Environmental degradation is impoverishing communities and encouraging emigration in search of alternative opportunities. E. Population movements and social and economic conditions 44. The growing population density and the decline in agricultural, forest and water resources in the highlands, in addition to poverty and unemployment, have spurred emigration by rural people to the cities, lowland areas, particularly in eastern Ecuador, and abroad. Many indigenous people emigrate to North America and Europe. Migration is one of the country’s most serious issues, with major implications for human rights, as was noted in 2001 by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. The situation of indigenous women is particularly distressing. 45. Various studies show that, recently, an increasing number of women are involved in international migration and more specifically, indigenous migration, as a response to, among other things, the incorporation of women into paid and productive activities. This trend has also been observed in Ecuador. Because of the discrimination from which they suffer, indigenous women migrants are particularly vulnerable, becoming easy prey for trafficking and slavery networks, in addition to numerous abuses in the workplace. 46. In 2003, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded that, despite legal and constitutional guarantees, indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples continued to suffer from discrimination, and also drew attention to double discrimination against women.