QUITO (Ecuador), Aug 21 —Ecuadorans have chosen to stop drilling for oil in an Amazon reserve, according to the results today of a referendum hailed as a historic example of climate democracy.
The “Yes” vote to halt exploitation of an oil block in the Yasuni National Park, one of the most diverse biospheres in the world, won by 59 per cent, with 98 per cent of votes tallied by the election body.
After years of demands for a referendum, the country’s highest court authorised the vote in May to decide the fate of “block 43,” which contributes 12 per cent of the 466,000 barrels per day produced by Ecuador.
The block is situated in a reserve which is home to three of the world’s last uncontacted Indigenous populations and a bounty of plant and animal species.
The government of outgoing President Guillermo Lasso has estimated a loss of US$16 billion over the next 20 years if drilling is halted.
The reserve is home to the Waorani and Kichwa tribes, as well as the Tagaeri, Taromenane and Dugakaeri, who choose to live isolated from the modern world. — AFP
