Ecuador seeks oil ‘compensation’

The Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is reckoned to be one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Beneath it, though, lie an estimated one billion barrels of oil.

The Ecuadorean government has begun negotiating with oil companies interested in bringing that oil to the surface, although President Rafael Correa says his preferred option would be to leave the reserves untouched.
The suggestion has been favourably received in several quarters:

Germany says it is taking the idea seriously
Norway is to send a delegation to Ecuador in the next few months
The World Bank is consulting with other international organisations

Italy’s parliament is about to vote on whether to give official approval to the project

Paolo Cacciari, one of the Italian MPs in favour, says the motion before parliament already has the support of more than 50 of his colleagues from both left and right.

None of them appears worried by the idea of reducing potential global oil supplies in this way.

“We’ve extracted more oil than we were ever meant to,” he says.

“We have an ecological debt to pay back, and this suggestion by Ecuador is an intelligent solution. It’s the responsibility of all of us to look after these reserves.”

So far though, there has been no firm commitment towards the funding.

BBC