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Americas> ECUADOR - Posted on Saturday, 08.03.13
ead more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html#storylink=cpy
BY JIM WYSS - jwyss@MiamiHerald.com
...The mysteries of this forest, which scientists like Coley are still
discovering, could be at risk after this South American nation quietly
began considering pulling the plug on one of the most innovative and
ambitious conservation plans ever attempted.
The Yasuní-ITT Initiative was designed to leave more than 846
million barrels of crude oil untouched, in perpetuity, beneath Yasuní
National Park — rioting with unknown species and tribes living in
voluntary isolation.
In exchange, the government asked the world to cover just half of the crude’s $7.2 billion market price.
Environmental
groups praised the plan as a novel way to slash greenhouse gases. In
2010, the United Nations threw its support behind the project, setting
up a trust fund to receive and manage donations. There were hopes that
crowd-sourcing conservation might be a model for other developing
nations.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html#storylink=cpy
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....In the balance is one of the most biodiverse spots on the planet. The
ITT block is among the most isolated areas of Yasuní National Park, a
2.4 million-acre U.N. biosphere reserve, which holds about one-third of
all of the Amazon’s amphibian species, even though it represents just a
small fraction of the total area. In any given two-and-a-half acre plot
of the Yasuní — roughly the size of a soccer pitch — there are more
species of trees than in the United States and Canada combined.
“As
a biologist, nothing makes me more awestruck than to work in an
incredibly diverse and pristine area where every day you discover
something that you couldn’t even imagine or anticipate,” Coley said. Read more:
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Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/03/3541557/an-experiment-in-amazon-conservation.html#storylink=cpy