Summary of the most important points
The initiative proposed by Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT aims at reducing overreliance on fossil fuels in the generation of energy. The model seeks to avoid all the possibilities of exploiting oil reserves in the country. In other words, it is a conservation approach on this rare, useful and environmentally harmful resource. It is apparent that there are significant underground oil reserves in the Amazon region of Ecuador. When the oil reserves are not exploited, the country will expect to be compensated by the international community on missed income.
Petroleum extraction in the Amazon region has been the mainstay of Ecuador. Hence, there is urgent need to shift the national attention from over-reliance on a single source of energy and instead seek other alternative sources. If Ecuador can be paid back handsomely owing to missed revenues, then the state can indeed fast track sustainable economic development. The initiative presented in the essay also explores the proposals in line with a political pilot project. For instance, the global environment service possesses a lot of new economic opportunities contrary to the popular belief that a nation like Ecuador should entirely depend on crude oil for economic growth.
The carbon-and-conservation collaboration model and some of its short and long term implications have been critically discussed in the paper. As a matter of fact, this form of collaboration may bear a lot of significance both at the national and international level. The implementation and institutional design of the proposed carbon collaboration is a major step in the right direction especially in regards to conservation matters. On a final note, such a shift in environmental conservation projects a number of governance challenges facing Ecuador as discussed in the paper.
Critics of the project and government’s point of view
The Yasuní-ITT Initiative received a lot of support from the government. For instance, various polices related to the initiative were substantially changed by President Rafael Correa in order to favor or enhance environmental conservation and at the same time safeguard the economic wellbeing of Ecuador. Although petroleum development sector has been a key pillar in economic growth over the years, the government pledged its readiness to support the Yasuní-ITT conservation initiative. It is also interesting to mention that no new oil extraction activities were halted by Ecuador’s president in 2008. This declaration covered regions that had already been earmarked for protection.
If it would be very necessary to extract oil from the protected regions, then the interested companies were supposed to seek and be granted permission by the state. However, the extraction project would be given a go ahead only if the nation benefits positively from it. After this declaration, a trust fund was created by the UN. The latter would enable adequate funding of all projects that enhanced sustainable development. In a nutshell, the government has been fully supporting the initiative bearing in mind that substantial pieces of legislations are firmly in place to reduce oil extraction and diversify national economy through other sources.
How much of the project is being protected
The portion of the project that is being protected comprises of a rich habitat of wild animals and human residence. For instance, there are countless communities of trees, mammals, birds, amphibians, and other animals. It has been referred to as a diversity maxima region that surpasses the IUCN database. The protected region is indeed part of the National Park. It is an ‘Intangible Zone’ as declared by the Ecuador’s government way back in 2007. The region covers an estimated area of 7,580km2 . Both the central and southern regions of the park are part of and parcel of the covered region. It is crucial to mention that the cultural integrity and ecological wellbeing of the protected region are of great significance to the state and that is why they are off-limits when it comes to the extraction activities for crude oil.
Names of the oil companies in Ecuador
A number of oil companies have been on the forefront in the rampant and in discriminate extraction of oil within the Amazon region of Ecuador. In fact, several protests and lawsuits were witnessed against these oil-extraction companies before the government eventually agreed to take control of the situation. Some of these companies include Chevron, Texaco and PetroEcuador.
Perspectives on the project
According to the authors, the project is indeed the best step to take towards environmental conservation and protection of the national diversity. Oil extraction activities in the Amazon region had led to disastrous effects to both human and animal life. In addition, the authors note that overdependence on oil resources has culminated into poor economic diversification. As a result, Ecuador is often vulnerable to fluctuating oil prices. The authors are of the opinion that if the Yasuní-ITT Initiative is fully adopted and implemented, the government will be in a stable position to minimize the debt burden and equally boost foreign direct investment.