Yasuní Green Gold Campaign to Save a People and Place

Posted on December 28, 2008 by Doug Gunzelmann in News+Opinion

Located in some of the last untouched wildernesses in the world, the Yasuní region of Ecuador is threatened by demand for its riches. This December the Ecuadorian government will vote to determine the fate of this land and its non-contact inhabitants.

The Yasuní park is home to two great treasures: some of the most biodiverse and pristine jungle wilderness left on the planet, and oil. The Green Gold project is a move to save the region from the ravages of oil extraction.

Yasuní Green Gold is an international campaign that was created with the support of the government and Orellana and local indigenous people, in the Yasuní region. It aims to raise awareness of the region and create a network of support for the conservation of the park and protection of the local people of the Yasuní.

There are some ways we can help by going Green Gold website and doing one of the following:

1. Click here to SIGN THE PETITION. Simple but effective - stand up against the exploitation of the ITT.

2. If you are an organization, click here to SIGN UP TO OUR SUPPORT STATEMENT.

3. Click here to DONATE A BOOK TO A DECISION MAKER!
Signed the petition… sent the postcards… you can say a lot more with a book!

4. If you are in the UK, click here to WRITE TO YOUR MP. (member of Parliament)

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.

The government of Ecuador is willing to forego oil exploration and extraction in return for international compensation. The effects of oil extraction in regions like the Amazon basin are well known and include:

Environmental impacts: the extinction of known and unknown species, oil contamination of water and soil and a large contribution to climate change through further oil production and extensive logging.
Cultural impacts: the final extermination of ancestral non-contact indigenous tribes through disease and violence.
Political impacts: repression, violence and conflict.
Social impacts: high levels of disease particularly cancers and children born with deformities, alcoholism, prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases.
Economic impacts: loss of livelihoods due to environmental impacts, i.e. crops and cattle destroyed by contamination.

This is a particularly interesting occasion due to the willingness of the Ecuadorian government to consider alternative objectives for their future with certain outside assistance. Check out Yasuni Green Gold and consider becoming a member, donation, or signing the petition to stop the destruction of the Yasuní region.