Ecuador wants money to leave oil reserves untapped By JT Nguyen

dpa German Press Agency Published: Tuesday May 22, 2007

By JT Nguyen,
New York- Ecuador wants to keep the Yasuni National Park's
rich biodiversity and its estimated 900,000 barrels of oil untouched,
if the world can provide 350 million dollars a year for health and
educational programmes to the indigenous people living there.
So far, there have been no takers.

"We are interested in biodiversity. We are not thinking of owning
money, and life is more important than money," said Cecilia Velasque,
clad in colourful, traditional dress and a black hat at the United
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous People at UN headquarters in
New York.

There are more than 300 million indigenous people around the
world, as recognized by the UN General Assembly. Once a year, their
representatives meet in New York to demand their rights, often
criticizing governments for failing them.

Velasque said there are four indigenous nationalities living in
Yasuni National Park, grouping about 1,500 people. The government
says that indigenous people form about 8 per cent of Ecuador's
population, but Velasque and her people claim 30 per cent across the
country.

At the indigenous conference at the UN, Ecuadorean government
official Lourdes Tiban called on the international community to
provide 350 million dollars to compensate for leaving the Ishpingo-
Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT) oilfield unexploited. Drilling for oil
could threaten the rich biodiversity.

UNESCO, which is trying to save the world's natural treasures by
designating world heritage sites, declared the Yasuni park a
"biosphere reserve" in 1989.

"If the world truly is interested in saving the planet, the
government of Ecuador has decided to sell the oil, but keep it in the
ground," she announced. "Ecuador is now looking for financial
resources from the international community that compensates the
nation for not exploiting the oil."

"I call on the United Nations agencies, member states,
intergovernmental organizations and NGOs to consider Ecuador's
proposal," Tiban said.

Ecuador's efforts to preserve its eco-systems under the government
of leftist President Rafael Correa have received support from US-
based conservation groups.

"We now have an unprecedented opportunity to work with a
progressive administration (in Ecuador) in order to save one of the
greatest spots on earth," said ecologist Matt Finer of Save America's
Forests in Washington.

"What are urgently needed now are viable proposals from the
international community to President Correa."

Max Christian of the Sustainable Development and Conservation
Biology programme at the University of Maryland said, "This presents
a landmark opportunity to sequester up half a billion tons of carbon
dioxide while conserving Yasuni's astounding biodiversity and
cultural heritage."

Bordering Ecuador, Peru also has significant oil reserves and
apparently is looking for a deal similar to Ecuador's proposal.

Finer said that the fight to exploit Ecuador's oil reserves has
pitted the government, particularly the Energy Ministry, against four
oil companies that have obtained licenses to drill: Petrobas of
Brazil, Sinopec of China, PVSA of Venezuela and ENAP of Chile. Those
companies have been told to hold on to their drilling plans until the
government decides how to proceed.

Ecuador, one of the world's poorest nations, has external debt of
15 billion dollars owed to the World Bank and the Inter-American
Development Bank. Half of its 13 million people live in poverty.

The Yasuni park is considered one of the world's most biologically
rich regions. It shelters numerous important mammal species including
the endangered Amazon tapir and at least 10 monkey species.

The indigenous tribes - the Waorani, Tagaeri, Taromenane and Zapar
- living in the park are completely dependent on the rainforest for
survival. They say that their lives would be completely disrupted if
the oil field is opened for exploration.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency

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