The Ecuadorian Case of Yasuní ITT

Developing countries should exploit their natural resources in

order to reach development

Johan Singana

Background

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“At the beginning of the 20th century, Ecuador

began extracting oil, first on the coast and then

in the Amazon region”.

Ecuador started to export oil in the 1970s.

In the 1980s, Ecuador become to be dependent

on a primary-export economy (oil).

Background

Ejolt Report 2013

Yasuní National Park

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The park is located in the intersection of the Andes,

the Equator and the Amazon rainforest.

It has an area of about 982,000 hectares. (Le 2013)

It is considered one of the most biodiverse place on

the Earth.

It contains more endemic tree species in one hectare

(2.5 acres) than there are in all of the U.S. and

Canada combined. (Zuckerman, 2013).

Yasuní National Park

ITT Block contains three oil fields: Ishpingo,

Tambococha, and Tiputini (Wallace 2013)

Yasuní ITT is 12% of the one million hectare

Yasuní National Park.

It contains as many species of reptiles (121) as

there are in all of Europe.

The park is territory of the Waorani indigenous

people, and two nomadic Waorani clans – the

Tagaeri and Taromenane – who live in voluntary

isolation.

Yasuní ITT

Yasuní ITT

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Yasuní ITT InitiativeIn 2007, the Ecuadorian government announced

that it was willing to forego extracting the oil

within the ITT block of Yasuní National Park.

The condition was that the government received

half of the expected monetary value of that oil in

the form of payments from the international

community. (Le 2013)

To preserve biodiversity unique to the planet.

To protect the land and the lives of the indigenous

peoples who live in voluntary isolation.

To protect the climate in the interest of all of humanity.

To take a first step forward a post-fossil-fuel era in

Ecuador.

Key goals of Yasuní ITT Initiative

According to Acosta 2013 the following are the main goals of Yasuní ITT Initiative.

As reported by Le (2013) on 15th August 2013,

Correa ended the initiative.

The fund received by the government at that time

contained just $13 million. (Le 2013)

Correa (2013, cited in Hill, 2013) said: “The

world failed us”.

Fail of Yasuní ITT Initiative

Why government should exploit Yasuní ITT?

Foil 2013

It has been argued that there are other

alternatives to collect the amount of money that

the government needs. (Siempre 2014)

One alternative is to eliminate the subsidy to the

gasoline.

Studies show that Ecuador “currently spends

$3.8 billion subsidizing fuel (gasoline, diesel,

cooking gas) in one year”. (El Telgreafo 2013)

Economy

Ecuador is totally dependent on its oil resources

which account for over 50% of its exports.

(Lebrun 2013)

The oil fields within Yasuní are estimated about

920 million barrels of crude oil - approximately

20% of Ecuador's total oil reserves. (Woodrow

2013)

The oil sector accounts for a sizeable portion of

all export earnings and represents one-third of

all tax revenues. (U.S. Energy Information

Administration EIA 2013)

Economy

Economy

Observatory of Economic Complexity MIT

It has been argued by Woodrow(2013) that “up to 80

percent of declared proven fossil fuel reserves will

have to stay in the ground if we are to avoid a rise in

a global average temperature of more than 2°C”.

According to Le (2013) “Liquid and solid wastes and

toxic production water contaminate ecosystems. The

drilling itself and the infrastructure that

accompanies it causes widespread deforestation”

Environment

It has been claimed by Martinez, Bassey and

Bond that Yasuní ITT Initiative (2013) will avoid

carbon emissions of about 410 million tons of

CO2.

According to some supporters of Yasuní ITT , they

are providing “a way to overcome the long-

standing but accelerating trend in Latin America

in which the environment is destroyed in the

name of economic development"

Environment

Environment

Correa (2013 cited in Hill, 2013) states “the oil

exploitation will affect less than 1% of the Yasuní

National Park.

The Ecuadorian Ministry of Non-Renewable Natural

Resources (2013) plans to drill 32 wells in 16.8

hectares and thus only '0.0017%' of the park will be

directly impacted.

The exploitation of all three fields will directly

impact about 200 hectares. It is about 0.02% of the

park (Hill 2013)

Environment

It is maintained by Le (2013) that “[d]rilling would

have significant psychological and social impacts

upon the indigenous people living in the area, and

likely render their traditional way of life impossible."

Delfin Payaguaje, one of the Secoya people, explains

the impacts of oil pollution on his community - his son

died of stomach cancer and five people in his small

community have died of cancers and brain tumours"

Society

Society

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The Yasuní ITT Initiative can produce instability in

the economy of other countries

Twist (2013) claims that “there is a fear that to

fund Yasuní ITT would open the door to hundreds

of similar proposals”

Ecuador is the smallest oil producing member of

the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting

Countries (OPEC).

The Ogoni and the Ijaw in Nigeria, the Mosetens

and Tsimane in Bolivia, to the inhabitants of

Madagascar, Ghana, South Africa, Europe, and

Quebec.

Society

Society

Cedatos 2013

The fund of exploitation of Yasuní ITT can be used

in other new environmental techniques such as

hydroelectric, thermic, etc.

The fund helps to decrease the level of poverty in

Ecuador.

The fund helps to improve the quality of education

in Ecuador.

Society

Poverty

Education

Senescyt 2013

Education

Senescyt 2013

Supply of Energy

Economy, Ecuador can get the money that it

needs without affecting the quality of life of many

people.

Environment, a very small part of the park will be

damaged.

Society, Ecuadorians can have better

opportunities in Educaction and poverty can keep

decreasing.

Conclusion

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BBC 2013, Ecuador approves Yasuni park oil drilling in Amazon rainforest, viewed 10 March 2014, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23722204.

Coffey, G 2013, Ecuador: Some Observations Regarding the Yasuní-ITT, Upside Down World, viewed 10 March 2014, http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/4472-ecuador-some-observations-regarding-the-yasuni-itt-proposal.

Hill, D 2013, Why Ecuador's president is misleading the world on Yasuni-ITT, The Guardian, viewed 10 March 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2013/oct/15/ecuador-president-misleading-yasuni.

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Lebrun, G 2013, Is this the end of Yasuni National Park?, The Ecologist (digital), viewed 15 March 2014, http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2066313/is_this_the_end_of_yasuni_national_park.html.

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Smithsonian Institution 2002, Where Is The World's Greatest Biodiversity? Smithsonian Scientists Find The Answer Is A Question Of Scale, viewed 10 March 2014, http://www.rainforests.net/betadiversity.htm.

Telegrafo 2013, Ecuador wants to phase out its high fuel subsidies, viewed 31 March 2014, http://www.telegrafo.com.ec/component/zoo/item/fuel-subsidies-phase-out-ecuador-diesel-gasoline-propane.html.

Twist, B 2013, A Deeper Perspective on the End of the Yasuní-ITT Initiative, News-Pachamama Alliance, viewed 10 March 2014, https://www.pachamama.org/news/a-deeper-perspective-on-the-end-of-the-yasuni-itt-initiative.

U. S. Energy Information Administration 2014, Ecuador Overview, viewed 25 March 2014, http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/Ecuador/Ecuador.pdf.

Wallace, S 2013, Rain Forest for Sale Demand for oil is squeezing the life out of one of the world’s wildest places, National Geography Magazine, viewed 10 March 2014, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/125-yasuni-national-park/wallace-text.

Woodrow, A 2013, Yasuní-ITT Initiative to be Scrapped, viewed 10 March 2014, http://www.gaiafoundation.org/blog/yasun%C3%AD-itt-initiative-to-be-scrapped.

Zuckerman, A 2013, Rights and Responsibility: The Failure of Yasuní-ITT and What it Means for Ecuador’s Indigenous Peoples, Amazon Watch, viewed 10 March 2014, http://amazonwatch.org/news/2013/0825-rights-and-responsibility-the-failure-of-yasuni.