The Yasuní national park in the Ecuadorian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, home to some of the world's last indigenous people still living in voluntary isolation. Beneath the heart of the park lies half a billion barrels of oil, which now threaten the park with destruction. For the sake of Yasuní's people, and the global climate that we all rely on, the oil must stay in the ground.
The President of Ecuador has appealed for the international community's help. If you live in the UK, your MP can put vital pressure on the UK government to act. You can ask them to sign an Early Day Motion (a parliamentary petition) supporting our campaign and to write to both Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for International Development and Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
Just send your MP an email with the text below. Personalised messages always have more impact so please feel free to make it your own. To find your MP's email address, enter your postcode here. You then choose the email option, fill in your details and send your message. Simple!Ê
Save Yasuní: Help Ecuador preserve its rainforest and protect its indigenous people
The Yasuní national park in the Ecuadorian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, home to some of the world's last indigenous people still living in voluntary isolation. Beneath the heart of the park lies half a billion barrels of oil, which now threaten the park with destruction. The President of Ecuador has called for financial support from the international community to help them keep the oil in the ground.
The President's proposal calls for $350 million a year for ten years from the international community - around half the predicted revenue the country would have received from exploiting the oil. He has extended the deadline for financial pledges twice, but it is unlikely that the hoped-for donations will have been secured by the new target of December 2008. Indeed, it seems that the Ecuadorian Government's commitment to finding a way to preserve Yasuní is now wavering: despite positive responses from Spain, Germany, Norway and Denmark, sufficient response to the proposal is proving elusive and the oil companies are intensifying the pressure to start drilling. Despite its strong points the proposal still requires development, which may help explain why it has not garnered the wholehearted support of other governments.
I need not emphasise to you that the imminent threat to Yasuní's future is not just a threat to its inhabitants, but to the whole world, which cannot afford the greenhouse gas emissions that will result from extracting half a billion barrels of oil. For everyone's sake it is imperative that this oil stays in the ground. The British Government has a key role to play here. The UK has a responsibility to help developing countries with oil-dependent economies make the transition to a low-carbon model of development, rather than destroy their globally indispensable ecological treasures.
I urge you to sign Early Day Motion 2192, Ecuadorian Government's proposal for saving the Yasuní forest, and write to both Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for International Development, and Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. If you have already signed the EDM, I would like to thank you, and encourage you to now follow this up with a letter to these ministers. Please encourage them to take action on this crucial issue by giving political support to developing the proposal in the following ways. Please call for:
1. an unconditional, non-reversible commitment from the Ecuadorian government to preserve Yasuní and guarantee the human rights of its people.
2. an unlimited extension of the time given to reach agreement on how to do this.
3. an international process led by the Ecuadorian Government, with full participation from local and indigenous groups in the region, to create a clear, coherent and fully representative proposal for securing a long-term sustainable future for Yasuní. This process should seek to work in partnership with supportive NGOs and governments.
4. an assurance that any financial support from governments will come through an open, democratic and accountable process, and will not involve carbon trading, World Bank funding or debt cancellation schemes, which have proved ineffective in reducing CO2 emissions and damaging to local peoples' rights around the world.
5. an assurance that any other projects which may have a negative impact on the area will not be allowed to go ahead.
Best wishes,
NAME
ADDRESS
Please email them soon. There are just weeks left now before the Ecuadorian government's proposal to save the park expires.
