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On November 15th, Pachamama Alliance CEO, Bill Twist, along with Jaime Vargas, President of the Achuar Federation in Ecuador, and Belén Paéz, Executive Director of our sister organization Fundación Pachamama in Ecuador, were interviewed by Xochitl Bernadette Moreno of Radio Ollin. The interview, aired live by KPFA, opened up discussion about The Pachamama Alliance's work with its indigenous partners to protect the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, the implications oil development could have on Ecuadorian society, and what needs to happen if we, as a global community, want to protect the Amazon from the threat of oil development in the future.
2013 a Year of Challenges and Threats to Ecuador's Amazon
This past year, much has happened in Ecuador that threatens the Amazon and the indigenous communities that live within its borders. Ecuador's President Correa heavily promoted the nation's XI Oil Round, that divides millions of acres of rainforest up into oil blocks, in the US, Canada, Europe, Ecuador, and China. He has extended bidding deadlines for investors and oil companies twice, the second deadline occurring November 28th.
Receiving a tepid response to the XI Oil Round, Correa also nixed the innovative Yasuní-ITT initiative that protected one of the most biodiverse areas of the Ecuadorian Amazon in exchange for international payments to "leave the oil in the soil."
Alternative Development, Energy, and Ways of Living Needed to Protect the Rainforest
The recent challenges indigenous nationalities that live in the Ecuadorian Amazon are facing via the ongoing XI Oil Round, and their so-far successful resistance to new oil development within their territories, was discussed by Bill Twist. Belén Paéz explained more about the unique biodiversity of Ecuador's Amazon and the importance of indigenous wisdom, new models of development, and the need for alternative energy if we are to avoid oil exploitation in the region. And Jaime Vargas discussed more about the Achuar nation's strong stand against oil development, and how the Achuar, as a collective, are using ancient laws to protect their territories.
Please listen to the interview here:
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