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Oil companies are salivating over the supply
of
black gold beneath Ecuador's rainforest. The South American country is
pledging to keep the oil in the ground - if the international
community provides compensation. Now Germany has taken a leading role
in raising the necessary cash.
There are many attributes which make the Yasuni National Park
special: It is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet, it is
home to indigenous tribes which hunt and gather in its remote interior,
and there's a unique breed of small bat. The national park also has
a geographic curse: It sits atop Ecuador's largest known oil reserve,
thought to contain hundreds of millions of barrels.
This potential fortune threatens its very future. In response,
Ecuador has come up with an unusual plan to safeguard the UNESCO
biosphere Reserve. The cash-strapped South American country has pledged
to leave the oil in the ground forever - something unheard of among
oil nations - if the international community compensates for some of
the lost income.
The scheme, which was first mooted by Ecuadorian President Raphael
Correa more than a year ago, got off to a slow start. By the end of the
year the country extended its self-imposed deadline, in a last ditch
bid to rally international support. Meanwhile, international oil giants
were queuing to exploit the supply of black gold.
Now, all of a sudden, the ball seems to be rolling. Following a
two-day visit by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Fander Falconi to
Berlin, Germany had positioned itself at "the forefront of the
initiative," said the Ministry for Economic Cooperation.
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