Ecuadorians vote against oil drilling in Amazon rainforest

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Ecuadorians voted on Sunday against the oil drilling of a protected area in the Amazon rainforest considered one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet.

For more than ten years, activist groups had been trying to carry out a popular consultation on oil exploitation in the middle of the Yasuni National Park.

In the same ballot of the presidential elections, the referendum was held under the question, "Do you agree that the Ecuadorian government should keep the ITT oil fields, known as Block 43, indefinitely underground?".

According to the National Electoral Council, 59% of the people answered "Yes" to stop exploitation in Block 43, situated within Yasuni, to protect the biodiversity of what is considered one of the world's epicenters for species.

It is also home to Indigenous tribes that do not wish to have contact with the outside world.

The Ecuadorian government is pushing to continue with oil activities that lead the country's exports. According to official estimates, block 43-ITT provides Ecuador with 55,000 barrels of crude oil daily, accounting for 11 percent of the national oil production. The country could lose US$1.2 billion in annual revenues.

However, ecologists have warned that in this park of one million hectares, there are more than 2,000 species of trees and shrubs, more than 250 fish, some 600 birds and about 200 mammals, which, they say, clash with the extractive activity.

A gradual withdrawal of all activities related to oil exploitation in the area will be carried out within a period of one year.