Ecuadorian officials told an international meeting last week that their government would ban exploitation of huge oil reserves if it was compensated for its effort to save the natural habitat of the Amazon region.
The untapped oil reserves are located in the heart of the Amazon, considered by scientists to be one of the most bio-diverse rainforests in the world. If explored and developed, the fields are expected to deliver more than 900 million barrels of oil.
“If the world truly is interested in saving the planet,“ said Ecuador’s representative Lourdes Tiban, “the government has decided to sell the oil, but keep it in the ground.“
Tiban added in her statement that
“I call on the UN agencies, member states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to consider our proposal,“ she said at the sixth annual meeting of the world body’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Her appeal came nearly two months after the energy ministry in Ecuador declared that it was ready to leave the oil in the ground because it did not want to harm an area of “extraordinary biodiversity“.
But ministry officials warned that they would be able to implement this decision only if and when the world community delivered “at least one-half of the resources“ likely to be generated by oil extraction.
“The international community has to compensate us for the immense sacrifice that a poor country like
Correa estimates the compensation figure at around 350 million dollars a year.
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The recently-elected left-wing government says that oil revenues are vital for social development because more than half of its 13 million citizens live in abject poverty.
While apparently pleased with the government’s position, leaders of the indigenous people of
“We want Carlos to be fired,“ said Moi Enomenga, leader of the Waorani indigenous people on whose lands the possible extraction would take place, referring to Carlos Pareja Yanuzeli, the head of the state-owned Petro-Ecuador oil company. “They are destroying our lands. We don’t want any oil companies in our area.“
Yanuzeli is viewed by indigenous people as a staunch advocate for oil companies.
According to indigenous leaders, without seeking their permission, some oil companies, including
The oil reserves are located in indigenous territory known as “Ishapingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT),“ which lies within the boundaries of the Yasuni National Park, an area designated a “biosphere reserve“ by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
According to the World Conservation Union, the
The Waorani people, who live in voluntary isolation in the ITT zone, are renowned for their giant spears. Their survival is completely dependent upon the rainforest.
Supporters of indigenous peoples’ rights from the scientific community say Correa’s appeal for compensation is an unprecedented chance to work with a progressive government in order to save one of the wildest and most abundant spots on Earth.
PIN/ IPSNEWS.COM
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