Ecuador: Oil Threatens Yasuni National Park

In his inauguration speech, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa declared that "Ecuador is no longer for sale". Heeding his call, environmentalists are now calling for the cancellation of a proposed sale of oil extraction rights to a foreign oil consortium in the Yasuni National Park, a Unesco Biosphere Reserve. They fear that the US$ 5bn Ishinpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT) oil extraction project will destroy a region with the greatest biodiversity in the world and home to the Taromenane and Tagaeri peoples who live in voluntary isolation. President Correa has reportedly asked his Ministers to seek alternative revenue sources, in case the bid call entrusted the Minister of Energy & Ministry of Foreign Affairs to examine alternatives. The Napo Wildlife Centre in Yasuni National Park was winner of the First Choice Responsible Tourism Award in 2006.

Related:

http://www.oilwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=583&Itemid=1&lang=en

http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/115/viewpoint.html#Ecuador

http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=ECU+02&mode=all

http://www.ecoecuador.org/

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