WORKSHOP IN WASHINGTON ON THE YASUNÍ-ITT PROPOSAL

The Embassy of Ecuador in Washington reported that on the 20th of September, 2007, hosted a workshop with experts from Ecuador, the United States and Spain to analyze various options and present suggestion for the implementation of the proposal “Keeping Crude Oil in the Ground: A Challenge for Ecuador and the World”, which was presented by the President of the Republic of Ecuador, Rafael Correa on the past 5th of June on World Environment Day.

The proposal advises not to exploit heavy crude oil from the ITT Block, which integrates the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini fields that are located in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the north part of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, in exchange for resources, that at least in part, will serve as compensation for the income that will not be received. It is important to emphasize that in case this initiative does not develop, the Government of Ecuador will decide to exploit the crude oil.

Consequently, the success of this proposal to suppress crude oil, as the first priority for the country, depends on the international and national communities. Due to these factors, importance of this event becomes evident, as a response to the initiative from the President of the Republic of Ecuador, in favor of the Yasuní National Park and its preservation.

At the announcement of the Workshop, the Ambassador of Ecuador, Luis Gallegos, indicated that the proposal has special relevance in the international context, since it is a new element to consider in the intergovernmental process in the course of arriving on an International Agreement on the topic of Climate Change, which began with a debate in the General Assembly and with the High Level Summit Meeting, which will be conducted in September in New York, that at the same time will conduct the first of the negotiations in Bali, Indonesia in December in order to arrive at an Agreement in 2009, which would enter into effect when the Kyoto Protocol terminates in 2012.

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