Protecting the Amazon

Today, along with other MEPs on the Andean Delegation, I wrote to the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado, to voice my support for his decision to protect the Ecuadorian Amazon from further destruction.

The Yasuní Park covers an area of 6,100 square kilometres of the Amazon rainforest and is one of the most bio diverse regions in the world. It is home to the Waorani, Kichwa and Shuar communities, some of the few indigenous communities left in the Amazon today. The Park is teeming with rare animal species and plant life.

However, under the rainforest canopy and the rich soil of the Yasuní Park there is oil, and many are keen to exploit the reserves. Nevertheless, President Rafael Correa Delgado, is well aware of the environmental importance of the site and in February of this year he decided to leave the oil of the Yasuní Park unexploited and to establish an indefinite term for this decision (decree No. 1572 of February 2009).

Indeed, allowing development in this area would cause contamination, deforestation, the extinction of cultures. There are severe global implications of developing the largest natural rainforest in the world too. In a time of such concern over the future effects of climate change on human health, we should be supporting efforts to prevent any further deforestation of the world's largest tropical rainforest and river basin.

The Ecuadorian President proposes an alternative to exploiting the area for oil. He appeals to the national and international community for compensation to implement this expensive national decision.

Given the global environmental implications of developing this area, this is not an unreasonable demand. Germany has already committed to promoting the initiative inside the EU and the OECD. The British government, the Spanish and the Italians, as well as multilateral organisations and several high profile individuals have also given their support to the idea.

We can hope that now with the fresh commitment of President Correa of Ecuador to protect the Yasuní Park, international support will be forthcoming, as there is an important global dimension to this issue.