FUTURE OF THE WESTERN AMAZON:
THREATS FROM HYDROCARBON PROJECTS
AND POLICY SOLUTIONS
A New Scientific Study
Four leading ecologists, conservation scientists and indigenous rights advocates present a new study about the impending threat to biodiversity and indigenous peoples from a wave of planned oil development in the Western Amazon.
One of the authors is world-renowned scientist Dr. Stuart L. Pimm, who in 2006 won the world's leading environmental science award, the Royal Netherlands Academy Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize.
Abstract
Table of Contents
Press Release
The New Study: FUTURE OF THE WESTERN AMAZON - PDF
this is a large, 2 mb file - you will need an up-to-date adobe reader
Presentation in the U.S. Congress - March 4, 2008 (coming soon)
Slide Shows - The Western Amazon (coming soon)
- Oil Blocks
- Biodiversity
- Indigenous Peoples
The Authors:
Matthew Finer, Ph.D., Staff Ecologist, Save America's Forests
Clinton N. Jenkins, Ph.D., Research Associate, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Science, Duke University
Brian Keane, Director, Land Is Life
Stuart L. Pimm, Ph.D., Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University
Extraordinary Professor, Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Winner of the 2006 Royal Netherlands Academy Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, generally considered the world's leading prize for environmental science
Abstract
The Western Amazon constitutes the most biologically rich and intact part of the Amazon basin and is home to a great diversity of indigenous ethnic groups, including many of the world’s last uncontacted peoples living in voluntary isolation. Unlike the eastern Brazilian Amazon, the Western Amazon is still largely intact as an ecosystem and has a high probability of retaining a stable climate in the face of global warming. The recent boom in hydrocarbon prices and the growing global demand, however, are leading to unprecedented levels of hydrocarbon exploration and development in the region. Previous hydrocarbon development in the Western Amazon has caused intense social conflict and environmental damage, including deforestation, illegal logging, and overhunting facilitated by new oil access roads. We synthesized information from government sources and present a status overview of oil development in the Western Amazon. Over 140 hydrocarbon concession blocks now cover ~645,000 km 2 of the most species-rich part of the Amazon. In both Ecuador and Peru, more than two-thirds of the Amazon is now covered in hydrocarbon blocks. In Bolivia and Western Brazil, major exploration activities are set to rapidly escalate. Also presented here is an overview of the most pressing conservation and indigenous rights policy issues confronting the region along with science-based policy alternatives. These include the need for regional and sectoral Strategic Environmental Impact Assessments, the adoption of roadless extraction techniques, and the resolution of intense conflicts with indigenous peoples.
Table of Contents
Abstract ............................ ..........................................................1
Introduction ....................... .........................................................2
Biodiversity ..................... ...........................................................3
Country By Country Analysis ....................................................4
Peru.................................................................................... 5 Ecuador.............................................................................. 5 Bolivia................................................................................. 6 Brazil....................................................................................6 Colombia.............................................................................7
Policy Overview ...........................................................................8
1. Free, Prior, and Informed Consent....................................8
2. Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation........................10
3. Roads ............................................................................11
4. Strategic Environmental Assessment................................13
5. Role of International Community......................................15
References ..................................................................................15
For More Information, Contact:
Carl Ross
Save America's Forests
202-544-9219
Save America's Forests/Save the World's Forests works with scientists, NGOs, citizens, and to protect and restore large scale natural forest ecosystems in the U.S. and around the world. We work as partners with indigenous forest peoples to protect their lands and their rights.
See our Yasuní Rainforest Campaign website for our work in Ecuador to protect Yasuní in the Ecuadorian Amazon, ancestral home of the famed Waorani.
Save America's Forests
Yasuni Rainforest Campaign
|
