Some good news for a change. Yesterday the Clinton Global Initiative highlighted the Ecuadorian proposal about “Leaving Ecuador’s Oil in the Ground” which seeks to avoid carbon emissions and save the Yasuni Rainforest.
The “Yasuni Proposal” as it is known was selected from among close to a thousand other proposals, and was highlighted in the Energy and Climate Change: Protecting Tropical Forests session.
At the panel, approximately 300 business leaders, philanthropists and governments that have expressed interest in supporting innovative projects, had the opportunity to financially support the project and join Ecuador’s pioneer proposal.
Already the Wallace Global Fund has committed $100,000 to the initiative, and joins a growing network of supporters, including Accion Ecologica, Amazon Watch, Earth Economics, University of Maryland, CS Mott Foundation, Pachamama Alliance, and World Resources Institute.
The Ecuadorian proposal is estimated at 4.6 billion dollars, and in the first year, will require 360 million dollars. It proposes not to exploit the most important oil reserves in the country, the Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (ITT) oil fields, located in Yasuni National Park. Yasuni is one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet and is home to the Tagaeri-Taromenani indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation
Atossa Soltani of Amazon Watch said, “The Ecuadorian initiative is a pioneering model of development. It puts Ecuador on a solid path towards economic and ecological sustainability.”