The Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon region in the provinces of Orellana and Pastaza is one of the most bio-diverse places and untouched areas on the planet as well as being home to many indigenous people, including some who voluntarily maintain no contact with the outside world.
One hectare (approximately the size of two football pitches or about one cricket field) of the Yasuní, for example, is home to the same number of native tree species as the whole of North America. Yasuní also contains nearly 40% of all the mammal species found in the Amazon Basin forests and 44% of the Amazon Basin’s birds. 
Unfortunately, Yasuní also sits above between 412 and 920 million barrels of oil and the oil companies are desperate to start drilling.
In May 2007, Ecuador’s government announced they were prepared to leave the oil in the ground but would need financial and political support from the international community. Since then, there have been a number of ups and downs for the Yasuní initiative (please see this New Internationalist blog for some of the details). According to the National Geographic Daily News, however, Ecuador aims to sign an agreement in the coming weeks to ensure that, in exchange for money, there is no drilling for oil in a huge plot of the rain forest. The idea is that contributions from industrialized nations and, potentially, from corporations (previously, there had also been suggestions that ordinary individuals would also be able to make a contribution) would make up for the revenue Ecuador would lose by keeping the oil underground.
The Yasuní Green Gold campaign, an international network of people and organisations, believes the Yasuní must be preserved as it is “Green Gold” and has been working hard to ensure the oil is not exploited. The campaign was born with the support of the local government and people of Orellana. The aims of the campaign are:
- to act as a loudspeaker for the local people raising the volume of their voices and concerns to an international level;
- to refocus the attention from the oil under the Yasuní to the importance of its biological and cultural richness in order to allow for alternatives for the region;
- to create an international network of people and organisations that support local efforts in the protection of the Yasuní;
- to act in co-operation with other movements and people in order to be the most effective; and
- to support the development and implementation of local solutions for the sustainable development of the Yasuní region.
Let us hope the Ecuadorian agreement fulfils its promise and meets the expectations of the Yasuní Green Gold campaign and its supporters such as the New Internationalist.
To learn more about Yasuní, please visit these sites:
David M. Davison
