Ecuador drills the first barrel of oil in a pristine corner of the Amazon rainforest
Yasuni´ is a nearly 3,800-square-mile protected nature preserve on the Western edge of the Amazon.
Scientists estimate 150 amphibian, 120 reptile, and 4,000 vascular plant species live in the area, which the Ecuadorian government began protecting in 1979.
Yasuni´ is also a UNESCO site, since in addition to its unparalleled biodiversity, indigenous tribes also call the area home.
Source: PLOS One
Since Ecuador gets half of its income from oil, the drop in oil prices around the world has hit the OPEC country hard.
Source: Reuters
In 2007, President Rafael Correa asked wealthy countries to pay $3.6 billion to keep Ecuador from drilling in the national park.
Some environmentalists and economists alike heralded the proposal as a revolutionary way to combat climate change, while others dubbed Correa's plan "ecological blackmail."
In the end, the world only coughed up about 4% of Correa's request, so he scrapped the plan in 2013.
Source: Reuters
The site Petroamazonas began drilling on Wednesday — the Tiputini block of what's called the ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini) — is just outside of the park, but the oil comes from beneath the Yasuni´.
The government says the Tiputini block will allow Ecuador to go from producing 550,000 barrels per day to 570,000.
Source: Reuters
It's the start of a new era for Ecuadorean oil," Vice President Glas said at the drilling site. "In this new era, first comes care for the environment and second responsibility for the communities and the economy, for the Ecuadorean people.
Source: Reuters
While the move will give Ecuador a welcome influx of cash in a time of low oil prices, environmentalists expressed their dismay at the potential loss of biodiversity drilling could bring.
The world can simply not afford to lose a place like Yasuní," said Kevin Koenig, Ecuador program director at the advocacy group Amazon Watch said in a statement. "At a time when scientists affirm we need to keep more than 80% of all crude reserves in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change, this is the last place on Earth they should be drilling.
Source: Amazon Watch
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