- Ecuador’s president lifted a moratorium on oil drilling in Amazon rainforest (a biodiverse hotspot) has been going on for a long time.
- Rafeal Correa scrapped a pioneering scheme, the Yasuni Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) initiative, to keep oil in ground under a corner of Yasuni national park in return for donations from the international community (only $13m of the $3.6bn goal had been given).
- Oil production might begin by 2016 and permits for drilling were signed for the 6,500-square-mile reserve, known as block 43.
- Petroamazonas, a state oil company will construct access roads and camps to prepare for drilling, although it had a bad record on oil spills wasn’t trust-worthy for safe drilling.
- Ecuador’s government rejected a petition calling for abandoning plans for drilling,organisers failed to get enough signatures to trigger a national referendum.
- The ITT block of the Yasuni park, where the drilling will go ahead, is home to two uncontacted tribes. It is a UNESCO site, and one hectare of the area is home to a richer mix of trees, birds, amphibians, and reptiles than the US and Canada put together.
- Oil drilling has been taking place in Yasuni national park for decades, dating back to Shell in the 1940s. In 2012, access roads had already been built in blocks neighbouring Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini.
- Ecuadorean government was rumoured to be negotiating a $1bn deal with a Chinese bank to drill.
Exams Perspective:
- Biodiversity Hotspot
- Yasuni Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) initiative
- Green Climate Fund
- Climate Change