Ecuador sacrifices the Amazon to the petroleum god!
- by: Umberto Salemi
- recipient: The president of Ecuador Rafael Correa
Between the fight against poverty and defending the environment, in the end the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, has chosen oil. That is, he will extract black gold in one of the areas with the greatest biological diversity on the planet to the detriment of both the indigenous people and the species at risk of extinction which have always populated the area known as Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT), located on the eastern edge of the country and encompassing a section of Ecuador’s Amazon Rainforest.
Correa is ready to drill even though in 1989 the Yasuni National Park, which accounts for about 20 per cent of the country’s oil reserves, had been declared a biosphere reserve by Unesco. The President sustains that he wants to do this to finance the fight against poverty. Environmentalists reply that he could make the same amount of money by cutting the subsidies on fuel or increasing the taxes on large companies.
Last May, the President gave his approval to the plans of PetroAmazonas, a subsidiary of PetroEcuador, the national oil company. It is expected that in March 2016 oil extraction will commence also in the ITT.
In February, the “Guardian” published a secret document from the Ecuador Ministry of the Economy which demonstrated that in 2009 Ecuador, while declaring its support for the Yasuni-ITT initiative to defend the Park, was already negotiating in secret with China for the exploitation of the area. Correa denied everything, but according to the “Guardian” this was all about business for a billion dollars: Ecuador would exchange Chinese loans from the China Development Bank with access to the extraction of black gold by the state company PetroChina. This, according to NGOs such as Amazon Watch and Acción Ecologica, raises questions about the true intentions of the government.
But what is the Yasuni? In the park there are 2,700 plant species, more native species of tree than in the whole of North America, and also a record 271 types of reptile and amphibian and one of the greatest concentrations in the world of jaguars. Two nomadic populations of the indigenous Huaorani live in the Yasuni: the Tagaeri and the Taromenane. These are amongst the last remaining groups alive in the world who live in “voluntary isolation”.
According to the “New York Times”, in the country’s Amazon Basin there has been «no example of responsible drilling». Petroleum companies have caused thousands of spills since 1992,with increases in cases of cancer and skin and respiratory illnesses.
Meanwhile, in July, PetroAmazonas has already accidentally spilled 660 thousand gallons of petroleum in the Rivers Aguarico and Parahuaico, used for drinking water and fishing by various indigenous tribes.
The Yasuni is a paradise which risks turning into hell.
Sign to show President Correa your opposition to the start of drilling in such a fragile and precious territory as that of Yasuni.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionCorrea is ready to drill even though in 1989 the Yasuni National Park, which accounts for about 20 per cent of the country’s oil reserves, had been declared a biosphere reserve by Unesco. The President sustains that he wants to do this to finance the fight against poverty. Environmentalists reply that he could make the same amount of money by cutting the subsidies on fuel or increasing the taxes on large companies.
Last May, the President gave his approval to the plans of PetroAmazonas, a subsidiary of PetroEcuador, the national oil company. It is expected that in March 2016 oil extraction will commence also in the ITT.
In February, the “Guardian” published a secret document from the Ecuador Ministry of the Economy which demonstrated that in 2009 Ecuador, while declaring its support for the Yasuni-ITT initiative to defend the Park, was already negotiating in secret with China for the exploitation of the area. Correa denied everything, but according to the “Guardian” this was all about business for a billion dollars: Ecuador would exchange Chinese loans from the China Development Bank with access to the extraction of black gold by the state company PetroChina. This, according to NGOs such as Amazon Watch and Acción Ecologica, raises questions about the true intentions of the government.
But what is the Yasuni? In the park there are 2,700 plant species, more native species of tree than in the whole of North America, and also a record 271 types of reptile and amphibian and one of the greatest concentrations in the world of jaguars. Two nomadic populations of the indigenous Huaorani live in the Yasuni: the Tagaeri and the Taromenane. These are amongst the last remaining groups alive in the world who live in “voluntary isolation”.
According to the “New York Times”, in the country’s Amazon Basin there has been «no example of responsible drilling». Petroleum companies have caused thousands of spills since 1992,with increases in cases of cancer and skin and respiratory illnesses.
Meanwhile, in July, PetroAmazonas has already accidentally spilled 660 thousand gallons of petroleum in the Rivers Aguarico and Parahuaico, used for drinking water and fishing by various indigenous tribes.
The Yasuni is a paradise which risks turning into hell.
Sign to show President Correa your opposition to the start of drilling in such a fragile and precious territory as that of Yasuni.
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