The mayoress of the Amazon region of Orellana in Ecuador, Anita Rivas, will be present in Barcelona on October 14 for the purpose of appealing to Catalan society. The purpose of the visit is to “Save the Yasuní National Park by helping to keep the oil under the ground.”
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The Yasuní is one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet and the home of one of the last Indian groups who have no contact with the outside world. Yasuní is in danger because oil companies are desperate to exploit it. The most shocking thing is that the destruction of this UNESCO reserve will take place to provide only five days of the world consumption of crude oil.
The campaign seeks support for the project proposed last year by the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. In an innovating proposal, he asked for the economic backing of the international community for financing alternate productive alternatives, thus helping Ecuador to free itself from its dependence on oil. December 2008 was established as a deadline for governments to express their backing.
Anita Rivas, who will present the campaign in Barcelona, is a charismatic local leader who has been the central character in the local struggle for the rights of the inhabitants of the region and the preservation of biodiversity. During the act, Rivas will carry out a passionate petition to the authorities with a view to obtaining their commitment to this cause. This will be the same emphasis she will maintain with politicians during the week-long tour she has planned in Spain. Additionally the book “Yasuní Oro Verde”, published by the non-governmental organisation Movimiento Idún, which is involved in the campaign and has used the photo bank of the Municipal Government to make known the local reality at the international level.“There are many arguments for keeping the oil in Yasuní Park under the ground. If we are able to, not only are we going to preserve a megadiverse space, home to various Indian cultures; we will become a universal symbol that another world is possible. Truly. The success of the defense of Yasuní will be a milestone for overcoming the humanity’s challenge to offset the effects of climate change,” warned Rivas.
Please visit www.yasunioroverde.org for additional information and buying the books.
Related information
Taken from the printed edition of El Telégrafo from Ecuador, September 9, 2008
Yasuní Project is being readied
The design for obtaining international support was approved by the Ministers of the Environment and Foreign Relations.
Photo of the Idún Movement
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