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Ecuador's President Rafael Correa recently ended his innovative Amazon conservation project - the Yasuní-ITT Initiative – so the area may be opened up to oil development.
The decision was initially met with widespread opposition when it was announced, which is not surprising given that close to 90% of Ecuadorians supported the initiative. There have been protests, and some are pushing for a national referendum to reverse Correa's decision.
However, the Ecuadorian government has since launched a public relations campaign to shift public opinion in favor of the decision, using a platform of public well-being and services for the larger citizenry, even as the decision seriously threatens the indigenous communities that live in the Yasuní-ITT along with a wealth of animal and plant species.
Additionally, Avaaz.org states, "The government has threatened to ban print newspapers, criminalize insults on social media, expel high school students who rally for Yasuní, and has forced media outlets seeking to enter and obtain footage of Yasuní National Park to run their coverage past the government before it airs."
Amazon Watch and Avaaz are currently promoting a petition asking Correa to abandon his plans to drill in the Yasuní-ITT.
Please click the link below to sign it and help Avaaz get to an initial goal of 100,000 signatures.
Save Yasuní - The last wonder of the Amazon
