Colombia forbids extracting oil in Amazon park

Chiribiquete National Park, located in the heart of Colombian Amazon, grew from 1.2 million hectares to 2.8 million and prohibited its mining and oil exploration and extraction.

The announcement was made yesterday by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Juan Gabriel Uribe, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Uribe declined to make comparisons with the recent decision of the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, of drilling the Yasuni National Park for oil, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

The minister merely stated that Colombia has spent years maintaining a commitment to the protection of these biodiversity areas. “The park is a universal wonder and also an area set as a symbol of preservation,” he said.

The park, which remains uninhabited, houses at least 360 types of birds, 160 species of butterflies, eight species of primates and five of cats.

Chiribiquete Park in Colombia