Both the ITT fields and exploration block 31 are the territory of the Huaorani indigenous people and the hunting grounds of the Tagaeri, Taromenani and Oñamenane, indigenous groups who live in voluntary isolation and are classified as “societies of abundance” because they produce just enough to satisfy their own needs. Encroaching on their territory would be tantamount to genocide.

On 10 May 2006 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered protective measures on the behalf of the Taromenani and Tagaeri, implying the implementation of measures to ensure the rights and safeguard the lives of these ethnic groups.

On 18 April 2007, President Rafael Correa announced the adoption of a governmental policy to safeguard the lives of these peoples, assuming responsibility for protecting their basic rights and pledging to make efforts aimed at confronting the threat of extermination and guaranteeing the defence of the collective and individual human rights of peoples who live in voluntary isolation.