Yasuni National Park
Encyclopedia
Yasuni National Park is in Ecuador
with an area of 9,820 km2 between the Napo
and Curaray rivers
in Napo
and Pastaza provinces
in Amazonian
Ecuador
. The park is about 250 km from Quito
and was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
in 1989. It is within the claimed ancestral territory of the Huaorani
indigenous people.
Yasuni is home to several uncontacted indigenous tribes
, including the Tagaeri
and the Taromenane
.
The national park
lies within the Napo moist forests ecoregion and is primarily rain forest.
Yasuni National Park is arguably the most biologically diverse spot on Earth. The park is at the center of a small zone where amphibian, bird, mammal, and vascular plant diversity all reach their maximum levels within the Western Hemisphere. Moreover, the park breaks world records for local-scale (less than 100 km2
) tree, amphibian, and bat species richness, and is one of the richest spots in the world for birds and mammals at local scales as well.
However, Yasuni National Park is threatened by oil extraction and the colonization, deforestation
, illegal logging
, and unsustainable hunting that accompanies oil-access routes.
A species of bat
, Lophostoma yasuni, is endemic
to the park.
for the exploitation and production of petroleum within the park. Famous scientists including Jane Goodall
, E.O. Wilson, and Stuart Pimm
have protested against this construction.
Since June 2007, the Ecuadorian government has been promoting the Yasuní-ITT Initiative, a proposal that seeks to leave the Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT) oil fields untapped under the core of Yasuni National Park in exchange for compensation from the international community for lost revenue. The government will receive, in turn, an international compensation fund equivalent to at least of 50% of the profits that it would receive were it to exploit the reserves.
Actor Leonardo Dicaprio
, Edward Norton
, and former Vice President of the United States Al Gore
are supporting the Ecuador
ian government.
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
with an area of 9,820 km2 between the Napo
Napo River
The Napo is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi.The total length of 1075 km. Catchment area of 100,518 square kilometers...
and Curaray rivers
Curaray River
The Curaray River is a river in eastern Ecuador and is part of the Amazon River basin. The land along the river is home to several indigenous people groups including the Quechua and Huaorani...
in Napo
Napo Province
Napo is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Tena. The province contains the Napo River. The province is low developed without much industrial presence. The thick rainforest is home to many natives that remain isolated by preference, descendents of those who fled the Spanish invasion in the Andes,...
and Pastaza provinces
Pastaza Province
Pastaza is a province in the Oriente of Ecuador located in the eastern jungle. The capital is Puyo, founded on May 12, 1899 and which boasts 25,800 inhabitants...
in Amazonian
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. The park is about 250 km from Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
and was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
in 1989. It is within the claimed ancestral territory of the Huaorani
Huaorani
The Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are native Amerindians from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate name Auca is a pejorative exonym used by the neighboring Quechua Indians, and commonly adopted by...
indigenous people.
Yasuni is home to several uncontacted indigenous tribes
Uncontacted peoples
Uncontacted people, also referred to as isolated people or lost tribes, are communities who live, or have lived, either by choice or by circumstance, without significant contact with globalized civilisation....
, including the Tagaeri
Tagaeri
The Tagaeri are a clan of Huaorani people living in Yasuni National Park, at the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin, named for their association with the warrior Taga...
and the Taromenane
Taromenane
The Taromenane are an uncontacted clan living in Yasuni National Park, at the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin.Together with the Tagaeri they make up the two last known indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation in Ecuador....
.
The national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
lies within the Napo moist forests ecoregion and is primarily rain forest.
Yasuni National Park is arguably the most biologically diverse spot on Earth. The park is at the center of a small zone where amphibian, bird, mammal, and vascular plant diversity all reach their maximum levels within the Western Hemisphere. Moreover, the park breaks world records for local-scale (less than 100 km2
Orders of magnitude (area)
This page is a progressive and labeled list of the SI area orders of magnitude, with certain examples appended to some list objects.-References:...
) tree, amphibian, and bat species richness, and is one of the richest spots in the world for birds and mammals at local scales as well.
However, Yasuni National Park is threatened by oil extraction and the colonization, deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, illegal logging
Illegal logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...
, and unsustainable hunting that accompanies oil-access routes.
A species of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
, Lophostoma yasuni, is endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the park.
Drilling controversy
There has been extensive controversy over the construction of "oil" roads by TexacoTexaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
for the exploitation and production of petroleum within the park. Famous scientists including Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
, E.O. Wilson, and Stuart Pimm
Stuart Pimm
Stuart Pimm is an American-British biologist and theoretical ecologist specializing in scientific research of biodiversity and conservation biology.- Professional career :...
have protested against this construction.
Since June 2007, the Ecuadorian government has been promoting the Yasuní-ITT Initiative, a proposal that seeks to leave the Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT) oil fields untapped under the core of Yasuni National Park in exchange for compensation from the international community for lost revenue. The government will receive, in turn, an international compensation fund equivalent to at least of 50% of the profits that it would receive were it to exploit the reserves.
Actor Leonardo Dicaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
, Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
, and former Vice President of the United States Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
are supporting the Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ian government.
Further reading
- Greenberg, J. A., S. C. Kefauver, H. C. Stimson, C. J. Yeaton, and S. L. Ustin. 2005. Survival analysis of a neotropical rainforest using multitemporal satellite imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment 96(2):202-211.
- Hennessy, L. A. (2000). Whither the Huaorani? competing interventions in indigenous Ecuador. Master’s thesis, Berkeley, University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Berkeley. - Lu, F. E. (1999). Changes in subsistence patterns and resource use of the Huaorani Indians in the Ecuadorian Amazon. PhD dissertation. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. - Pitman, N. C. A. (2000). A large-scale inventory of two Amazonian tree communities. PhD dissertation. Durham, Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
. - Vogel, J.H. (2009). The economics of the Yasuní Initiative: climate change as if thermodynamics mattered. London, Anthem Press.
External links
- “Opinion: Yasuní and the New Economics of Climate Change” CNN. Edition: International. August 23, 2010.
- Yasuni Green Gold Campaign to save the park and its indigenous people
- Yasuni Campaign by New Internationalist
- Yasuni Campaign by Ecuadorian civil society organizations - Amazonia por la Vida