Ecuador will establish a trust fund for receiving payments to leave oil reserves unexploited in Yasuni National Park, one of the world’s most biodiverse rainforest reserves, reports the UN Development Programme, the agency that will administer the fund.
The Yasuni Trust Fund, announced by UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Fander Falconi, and Minister of Natural and Cultural Heritage Marie Ferdinand Espinosa in Copenhagen on December 16, 2009, will prevent the emissions of 407 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by leaving an estimated 850 million barrels of crude oil in the ground. The fund aims to offset lost oil revenues by receiving donations from industrialized countries and using the proceeds for renewable energy projects and low carbon development.
Protecting Yasuni will not only avoid greenhouse gas emissions and move Ecuador towards a low carbon development path, the initiative will safeguard important habitat for plant and animal species—the Ecuadorean Oriente region has some of the highest levels of biodiversity ever recorded — as well as allow rainforest tribes to continue living in traditional ways should they so choose.
The Yasuni Trust Fund is a sharp break from the previous development philosophy in the region: unrestrained exploitation of oil. Decades of oil drilling and exploration in the Ecuadorian Amazon has polluted rivers, decimated indigenous groups, and contributed to deforestation rates that are among the highest in Latin America. Environmental damages from oil extraction is the subject of an ongoing multi-billion dollar lawsuit against Chevron Corp. Texaco, a company acquired by Chevron in 2001, has been linked to widespread contamination and is accused of failing to adequately fund and support clean-up efforts. A decision on the suit is expected next year. Chevron has vowed to not to pay damages no matter the outcome.
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