Great News!
Ecuador has agreed not to drill in the pristine Yasuni National Park, located in the Amazon Basin in eastern part of the country, in exchange for a trust fund of 3.6 billion dollars, to be given to the country.
This is being hailed as a historic step, signifying a completely different model of development. By agreeing not to drill for oil, Ecuador is protecting the world’s atmosphere and its inhabitants from the pollution of some 846 million barrels of oil.
The United Nations Development Program states: “This project is the first in the world to prevent the emission of such gasses in a quantifiable and verifiable manner.”
By not drilling in the National Park, the country is keeping 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released.
The decision respects the wishes of the Huarani people to remain in the rainforest jungle isolated from modern society, and from the corruptive influences of rainforest exploitation and development.
Interest from the fund will be invested in social and renewable energy projects, all aimed at respecting the “rights of nature” clause in Ecuador’s constitution, which states, “Every person, people, community or nationality will be able to demand the recognition of rights for nature before the public organisms. The application and interpretation of these rights will follow the related principles established in the constitution.”
Accion Ecologica, an Ecuadorian NGO put it this way: “Leave the oil in the soil
The coal in the hole
And the tar sands in the land.”
I can already hear a song about this, gliding over the rainforest… – ND August 20, 2010
