Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park
Bold Eco-Initiative or Environmental Blackmail?
The nation of Ecuador is heading a controversial fundraising initiative to keep their Yasuni-ITT region of the Amazon– arguably the most biodiverse region in the world– out of harm’s way. In order for the country not to drill oil from the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputinin blocs of the Yasuni National Park, they have asked the international community to pledge $3.6 billion (approximately half of what the oil would be worth) to the United Nations Development Fund.
The South American country– long considered at the forefront of environmental conservation thanks to its management of the Galapagos Islands– recently revealed that they’ve raised $116 million for the initiative at the turn of the year, just over the $100 million mark needed to keep the initiative alive. Some of the donors thus far have included other countries, such as Turkey, Chile, Columbia, Georgia, Australia, Spain and Belgium. Italy has agreed to forgive $51 million of debt from Ecuador to be put towards the initiative, one of the largest single donations. Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa has contributed $40 million of his own winnings from a recent lawsuit he won over an opposition newspaper. Other donors include environmentalist Al Gore, and movie stars including Leonardo Dicaprio and Edward Norton.
Why are these countries and celebrities lining up to donate to what some would consider environmental blackmail? Because the stakes are too high not to. The Yasuni-ITT initiative will prevent an estimated 410 million tons of C02 from entering the atmosphere, safeguard indigenous populations, and protect one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. Research has shown Yasuni National Park contains the highest number of species in the western hemisphere based on data on birds, mammals, amphibians and plants. Up to 655 different tree species grow in a single hectare there– more than in all of the U.S. and Canada combined.
According to Hugo Mogollon, executive director of Finding Species (an NGO that works in Ecuador), “The Yasuni-ITT Initiative is pioneering. It is a serious effort to keep megadiverse forest intact, coming from the office of the President of Ecuador. Governments of the region and around the world should really want to support this.” At some point, governments around the world need to recognize that the long-term economic benefits of sustainable business practices far outweigh the short-term gain of commercial exploitation of natural resources. Perhaps this is a roundabout way of achieving just that.
Whether you agree with Ecuador’s methods or not, the country is managing to keep one of the most diverse regions in the world safe from oil drilling, not to mention initiating hundreds of millions of dollars worth of donations towards world development. Hopefully, other nations are taking note… –Raffi Simel
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