Let the Ecuadorean Government Know that Oil Exploration and Protected Areas Do Not Mix
TAKE ACTION @ http://forests.org/action/ecuador/
The Brazilian national oil company PetroBras is finalizing plans to build a 45 kilometer (28 miles) access road into the heart of the ultradiverse Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Yasuni National Park's outstanding biodiversity was recognized in 1989 when it was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park contains one of the highest known levels of plant diversity per hectare in the world. Wildlife abounds as jaguars still roam, woolly and spider monkeys still swing through the trees, and harpy eagles patrol the canopy. The proposed road will be a completely new artery, opening access into remote, primary Amazonian rainforest relatively untouched by human activities. As has happened elsewhere, it will trigger an irreversible wave of colonization and over hunting. Further, this road will transect the territory of the Chiru Isla Quichua indigenous community living along the Rio Napo, and would enter the ancestral territory of the Huaorani, possibly even impacting an uncontacted community. Two other major oil projects located within Yasuni Park are in earlier stages of development, thus the PetroBras road could very well set the precedent for a new wave of road building within the park. To protect Yasuni National Park's unique and threatened nature, wildlife and peoples, it is imperative that no further roads are built into the area.
TAKE ACTION @ http://forests.org/action/ecuador/
Networked by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry@forests.org
The Brazilian national oil company PetroBras is finalizing plans to build a 45 kilometer (28 miles) access road into the heart of the ultradiverse Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Yasuni National Park's outstanding biodiversity was recognized in 1989 when it was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park contains one of the highest known levels of plant diversity per hectare in the world. Wildlife abounds as jaguars still roam, woolly and spider monkeys still swing through the trees, and harpy eagles patrol the canopy. The proposed road will be a completely new artery, opening access into remote, primary Amazonian rainforest relatively untouched by human activities. As has happened elsewhere, it will trigger an irreversible wave of colonization and over hunting. Further, this road will transect the territory of the Chiru Isla Quichua indigenous community living along the Rio Napo, and would enter the ancestral territory of the Huaorani, possibly even impacting an uncontacted community. Two other major oil projects located within Yasuni Park are in earlier stages of development, thus the PetroBras road could very well set the precedent for a new wave of road building within the park. To protect Yasuni National Park's unique and threatened nature, wildlife and peoples, it is imperative that no further roads are built into the area.
TAKE ACTION @ http://forests.org/action/ecuador/
Networked by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry@forests.org
Starmail - 26. Jun, 22:51
