Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Hezbollah fires rocket barrages into Israel after deadly Beirut strikes    British man captured while fighting with Ukraine    Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election    Indians risk it all to chase the American Dream    Al Ittihad claims top spot in Saudi Pro League after victory over Al Fateh    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Al-Jubeir discusses with EU officials enhancing bilateral cooperation    GASTAT: Non-oil exports up 22.8% in September 2024    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia allows licensed flour milling companies to export flour    Saudi Arabia joins international partnership initiative to boost hydrogen economy    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Saudi delegation participates in the 7th U20 Deans Summit in Brazil    Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    SFDA move to impose travel ban on workers of food outlets in the event of food poisoning    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Ecuador to open Amazon's Yasuni basin to oil drilling
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 17 - 08 - 2013

QUITO — Ecuador will open up part of the Amazon rainforest to oil drilling after rich nations failed to back a conservation plan that would have paid the country not to explore in the area, President Rafael Correa said on Thursday.
Correa launched the initiative in 2007 to protect the Yasuni area of the Amazon basin, which boasts some of the planet's most diverse wildlife, but said he had now scrapped it after it attracted only a small fraction of the sum it aimed to raise.
“I have signed the executive decree for the liquidation of the Yasuni-ITT trust fund and through it, end the initiative,” Correa said in a televized address. ITT refers to three untapped oil blocks known collectively as Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini.
Scores of protesters, some with placards gathered in front of the presidential palace shortly after the announcement, angered by the decision, while others opposing them, waved flags in the color of Correa's political movement.
Ecuador, OPEC's smallest member, had planned to forgo opening the Yasuni basin, its more than 800 million barrels of crude and $7.2 billion in income from beneath the jungle floor as part of the conservation plan.
It was aimed at protecting wildlife — a single hectare (2.47 acres) of the Yasuni national park contains more tree species than in all of North America — and the livelihoods of indigenous peoples who fear oil drilling would damage their ancestral homeland. In return, the government had hoped to receive some $3.6 billion from the international community over 12 years, or about half the value of the oil it would be leaving in the ground, through the fund administered by the United Nations.
In five years, however, only about $336 million had been pledged, mostly from European countries and various environmental groups, the campaign's manager, Ivonne Baki, said in April.
Correa said the plan had only actually received $13.3 million, less than half a percent of its goal. Last month, Correa set up a commission to evaluate the plan's progress which concluded that “the economic results were not what the state had been hoping for.” — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.