The effects of oil exploration on the Ecuadorian Amazon
Fascinating to hear the Radio 4 programme ‘Costing the Earth’ the other evening. It was all about the Ecuadorian Amazon and the conflict between conservation and the extractive industries, specifically oil.
Seems that the Ecuadorian government has come up with an idea to leave the oil in the ground if the international community compensates it to the tune of 50% of the value of the oil – around 3.5 billion dollars. It’s either genius or blackmail.
There doesn’t seem to have been much of a take up on the idea and if the government doesn’t get to its target of us100 million pledged by the end of 2011 then they might start to drill.
The locals down in the Amazon don’t seem to trust the government but anything’s got to be better than the current state of drilling down there.
The damage done to the Amazon through extraction of oil is absolute. Not just in terms of the pollution but, longer term, the fact that the roads pushed through the rainforest allow access to loggers and then ranchers.
All of this leaves the environment fundamentally changed and damaged for all future generations. Here we are talking about the Yasuni National Park which is a place of remarkable biodiversity.
Admittedly, there is a big difference in traditional methods and more modern methods of oil extraction. However, the photo above was taken within the last 12 months and shows oil works in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Part of this evening’s show has been spent talking to the Huoarani people in the south of the Yasuni area. The way they have pushed back against the extractive industries is to set up a lodge for visitors. There are only five rooms but it gives people the opportunity to live with the Huoarani for a few days and see things through their eyes.
During the radio show you can hear the presenter landing in the village and talking to Moi, the only villager to speak Spanish and someone I have met here in the UK. It’s a remarkable project and one which is truly sustainable and authentic.
When you leave the Huaorani Lodge you kayak downstream until you get to the oil road shown above, the ‘toxic highway’ as it’s been nicknamed. It’s along this highway you drive to get to the town of Coca and your plane out of the jungle.
Having spent the past few days and nights in the heart of the jungle with no lights, no machinery, just the sounds of nature and the rhythm of a life lived in synch with the environment, the trip along this road is a powerful, often emotional, reminder of what the Huoarani project is all about.
Back to the Yasuni exploration project and the radio programme. I guess the point not made is that even if the oil is removed relatively cleanly then it leaves the area exposed to subsequent exploitation by smaller corporations and individuals who are subject to absolutely zero regulation and control.
The economic imperative of oil exploration funds roads into the Amazon which would simply not be viable for the smaller fish of logging and ranching. It’s the Trojan horse.
If you want to listen to the piece on Ecuador, visit the Costing the Earth corner of BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006r4wn/episodes/player
If you would like to visit the Huaorani during a trip to Ecuador, they feature in our Ecuador Uncovered holiday
For more photos of the toxic highway, have a look at this set of images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tropiceco/sets/72157624485626838/with/4790407248/
Then cheer yourself up with some happier photos of the Huaorani http://www.flickr.com/photos/tropiceco/sets/72157624967905980/