Second debate over the exploitation of the Yasuní is ready

The Biodiversity Committee approved on Monday the report for the second debate of the resolution which facilitates the exploitation of oil in blocks 31 and 43 of the Yasuní National Park; prior to the approval they did a restructuring of the texts, and included the obligation of the Executive to comply with the prior consultation of the affected communities.

Eight members of the ruling party that form part of the Commission voted in favour of the report, while Pepe Acacho (PK) voted against. Cesar Solorzano and Arcadio Bustos, of Sociedad Patriotica, did not attend.

This document, which will be discussed tomorrow in the plenary of the Assembly, contains 56 pages and is divided into six parts, including a resolution accepting the presidential request, the exclusion of the Tagaeri-Taromenane Intangible zone (ZITT) of extractive activities, the destination of the resources obtained from the exploitation of the blocks, among others.

Ximena Ponce (AP) emphasised that the declaration maintains that the State company Petroamazonas   should be the one responsible for the extraction of these camps, in fact it already operates in block 31, and according to the ruling party, this is one way of ensuring less damage in the area.

Unlike Ponce, Assembly member, Diego Salgado (CREO), insisted that the Declaration is opposed to article 57 of the Constitution, which indicates that: “the territories of peoples in voluntary isolation are of ancestral possession, irreducible and intangible, and in them will be prohibited all types of extractive activities”.

The Biodiversity Committee coordinated 42 interventions in the plenary and 31 written comments were submitted  last Wednesday, however the text retains much of its original version.