In Ecuador, an Unusual Carbon-Credit Plan to Leave Oil Untapped

Beneath the tropical jungles of northeastern Ecuador lies a vast pool of oil, representing one-fifth of the small Andean country’s petroleum reserves and potentially billions of dollars in revenue. Directly above that pool, the Yasuni National Park is home to a diversity of wildlife that is among the richest on the planet, Ecuadoran and U.S. biologists say.

Faced with these two treasures, Ecuador is pursuing an unusual plan to reap the oil profits without actually drilling for oil.
The idea envisions wealthy countries effectively paying Ecuador to leave its oil — and the carbon dioxide that would result from using it — in the ground. Environmentalists hail the proposal as a potentially precedent-setting approach to conservation in developing countries.

Ecuador would sell certificates to governments or companies that would allow them to emit carbon dioxide in amounts corresponding to the carbon left underground in Yasuni. Proponents say the plan would help reduce overall levels of air pollution.

“From my perspective, this has got to work,” said Matt Finer, a biologist with Washington-based Save America’s Forests, who has studied Yasuni National Park. “This area is really of just supreme global conservation importance.”

Similar ideas have become increasingly popular across South America. Brazil has developed an Amazon Fund, which seeks to attract money to conserve the rain forest– so far, Norway has pledged up to $1 billion over the next several years. The Japanese government recently agreed to lend Peru $120 million to protect 212,000 square miles of Amazonian rain forest over the next decade. And Colombia is seeking funds from Norway to combat climate change by protecting forests.

Washington Post