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Intag is a remote, partly mountainous area in Cotacachi Canton and Otavalo Canton Imbabura Province, Ecuador, named for the Intag river. It includes Intag Cloud Forest Reserve, which has primary cloud forest at 1800–2800 m and a high biodiversity. Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve borders to the North.
The region faces various environmental concerns. Reforestation takes place in Intag. A Mitsubishi subsidiary, which had contaminated Junín river and caused deforestation, was expelled in 1997.
DECOIN (Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag) an environmental organization, has been founded in 1995 and has created a sensitivity concerning a possible destruction of this environment.
The Inter-American Human Rights Commission Organization was informed. With support of Canadian organizations Friends of Nature and MiningWatch Canada, a claim against Ascendant Copper for having violated safeguards established in standards for multinational companies was filed with the OECD. In 2005, three months before Copper Mesa (then Ascendant Copper) was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, County Mayor Auki Tituaña wrote to the Finance and Audit Committee of the Toronto Stock Exchange: "We consider it to be appropriate and fair that before accepting open "trade" of Ascendant Copper Corporation's stocks in the Stock Market, you evaluate in depth the "new" company's merits..."
The government of Ecuador has since prohibited any activity of Ascendant Copper in Ecuador. Codelco of Chile and ENAMI are exploring the area.
In 2002, the Ministry of Energy and Mines auctioned off 7,000 hectares of subsoil rights in Junín. The following year, Cotacachi Municipality, six parishes, communities and NGOs requested a restraining order from the courts.
Under Rich Earth is a film covering this inter alia and was debuted at Toronto International Film Festival.
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