Forest Scientists Oppose Oil Road Through Ecuadorian National Park - ENS

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YASUNI NATIONAL PARK, Ecuador, December 1, 2004 (ENS) - "Fifty international rainforest scientists declared their strong opposition to the construction of a new oil road into Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park in a letter and report submitted this week to Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutiérrez. The scientists fear that penetration of the road into pristine forest areas will lead to species extinctions. Yasuní National Park, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon, protects one of the Earth’s most biodiverse rainforests and is a refuge for threatened species such jaguars, Amazonian tapirs, giant otters, harpy eagles, and woolly monkeys.

In August, the Ecuadorian government granted the Brazilian national oil company Petrobras a license to construct a new road into an undisturbed part of the park to facilitate oil extraction. Ecuadorian environmental and human rights groups immediately launched a lawsuit in Ecuador’s Constitutional Court to halt the project. The groups lost the initial suit and are now appealing.

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The scientific findings presented at the conference and in the report reveal that Yasuní protects one of the most biologically rich regions in the world. "The park protects a large stretch of the world’s most diverse tree community,” reported Nigel Pitman, Amazon Conservation Association’s director of science. There are 644 tree species in one hectare (2.47 acres) of Yasuní National Park, almost as many as the 680 species found in all of the United States and Canada combined.

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Moreover, the scientists see no evidence that indicates the new Petrobras Road would be an improvement over the Maxus Road. The proposed road’s proximity to Quichua communities along the Napo River and Huaorani communities within the park indicate that the Petrobras Road would also likely serve as a magnet for colonization and overhunting. The Petrobras road would penetrate into one of the most undisturbed parts of the park, making the negative impacts even more profound. Fifty-six scientists signed the letter to government officials. It was submitted, along with the report, to Ecuador’s President, Environment Ministry, and Constitutional Court."

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No link, subscription service. Other details in the article include almost unbelievable amounts of insect, plant and amphibian biodiversity, but of course, all must be destroyed on the altar of Holy Oil.