After agreement, a subsidy of one million dollars annually is announced for at least fifty years to protect the diversity of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve.
An image of the Yasuní National Park captured in May 2019.
The Yasuní National Park is recognized for its biodiversity, but also for all the dangers that threaten this natural space.
The Yasuní biosphere reserve, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, will receive a subsidy of one million dollars annually for at least fifty years to protect its biodiversity.
It occurs after an agreement between the Ecuadorian Government and the organizations Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Legacy Landscapes Fund (LLF) and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
The Ministry of Environment indicated that on Monday it formalized with WCS, LLF and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation an agreement that contemplates providing “an annual subsidy of one million dollars, for a minimum of 50 years, with the objective of conserving and protecting biodiversity of the reserve”.
Yasuní, epicenter of biodiversity
Located in the Amazonian provinces of Pastaza and Orellana, the reserve is home to a great diversity of plants, with more than 4,000 species estimated per 10,000 square kilometers , placing it among the nine centers of plant diversity worldwide, the Ministry detailed in a statement. .
He added that avian and aquatic biodiversity “is equally impressive,” with at least 596 bird species documented , representing a third of the Amazon’s native species, and around 499 fish species.
Thus, the reserve will receive, from LLF, a significant boost in its conservation efforts to effectively and sustainably manage selected legacy landscapes, in order to increase biodiversity and generate social benefits.
Furthermore, to establish solid, inclusive and collaborative governance for effective landscape management, through the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve Management Committee , and also promote the use of natural resources in a sustainable manner , in indigenous peoples and local communities residing in the area, according to the information.
It also seeks to strengthen the infrastructure and capacity of the Yasuní National Park for control, surveillance, compliance and monitoring activities within the protected area to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the management and preservation of the park.
The Ministry will coordinate with the WCS, as the main strategic partner, the entire execution of the program.
Sade Fritschi, Minister of the Environment , Water and Ecological Transition, participated in the ceremony to make the agreement official; Philipp Schauer, ambassador of Germany; Sebastián Valdiviezo, director of WCS Ecuador; Timoteo Huamoni, Territory leader of the Waorani Nationality and Juan Carlos Ruiz, president of the Sapara Nationality of Ecuador.
Cessation of exploitation
At the beginning of May, the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, created a committee to comply with the will of his compatriots expressed in 2023 in a historic referendum that approved ceasing oil exploitation of Block 43-ITT, one of the most important fields in the country. It is located in the Amazon of the country.
Noboa established that this committee will be in charge of establishing and applying the mechanisms, guidelines and actions for the dismantling of Block 43-ITT, located within the Yasuní National Park, through an action plan that must be designed and agreed upon with public and private entities.
The document did not specify dates or deadlines for the closure of the oil exploitation, although Noboa had mentioned at the beginning of his mandate the possibility of extending the deadline to comply with the provisions of the referendum, due to the delicate fiscal situation in Ecuador.
During the electoral campaign, Noboa was in favor of ceasing the exploitation of Block 43-ITT, arguing that, over the years, its profitability was going to be increasingly lower, as international crude oil prices decreased.
The resolution of the Constitutional Court that gave the green light to holding the referendum in 2023 had ordered that all facilities be dismantled and returned to their original state, in principle, until August 31.
Coinciding with the first round of the extraordinary general elections, Ecuadorians voted in favor of leaving the oil reserves of Block 43-ITT in the subsoil indefinitely , worth approximately 13,800 million dollars (about 12,842 million euros) for the next 20 years, according to Petroecuador estimates.
Inside the park live the Tagaeri, Taromenane and Dugakaeri, indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation whose intangible zone borders Block 43-ITT.
