Ecuador: Pioneering no-drill deal for Yasuni NP signed
The Yasuni National Park, in the western Amazon, is considered by ecologists one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
Underneath the reserve, however, is over 800 million barrels’ worth of crude oil, which could release around 400 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere if used as fuel.
The initiative, signed by Rebecca Grypsan, a UNDP associate administrator, and Ricaro Patino, Ecuador’s foreign minister, means that the oil will not be tapped.