World's conservation hopes rest on Ecuador's revolutionary Yasuni model
A plan to preserve the most biodiverse region on Earth from oil exploitation has put Yasuni national park at the frontline of a global battle between living systems and fossil fuels. But enthusiasm is cooling and this bold project may now be at as much at risk as the wildlife itself
In their first hour in Yasuni's Amazonian forest, many people will see more creatures than they have seen in their entire lives, including some that have yet to be documented by science. To paddle up the Ayango creek that leads from the traffic and pollution of the Napo river into the most biodiverse region on Earth is to encounter a wall of noise, frequent bursts of colour and unimaginable combinations of life.
A tiger heron flaps lazily past our canoe, electric blue Morpho butterflies jolt the eye, spiders the size of an adult's hand sit on branches, and kingfishers flash past. On a mud bank, a lizard suns itself, while high up in the tree canopy, we catch glimpses of flying monkeys and grunting Hoatzin "stinky turkeys" – prehistoric survivors with claws that grow into wings, which could have inspired the creatures in James Cameron's film Avatar.
The thick vines, exotic plants, stunningly colourful birds and huge reptiles of the forests and water systems here far outstrip the wildest imagination of any film director, but they are at risk from the worldwide trend of rising extinction rates and from local economic pressures to exploit underground oil fields.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/03/ecuador-yasuni-conservation
