QUITO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador on Friday cancelled the exploitation of its most important oil field to preserve the flora and fauna in the Amazon rain forest region.
Ecuador's Vice President Lenin Moreno said the measure implies that some one billion barrels of crude oil will be left underground in the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil reserve.
The ITT oil reserve, the country's largest, is located in Yasuni National Park, one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world, in Ecuador's Amazon region.
Moreno told reporters that an international environment conservation workshop will be held in the capital Quito on Monday on Yasuni National Park.
During the workshop, Ecuadorian and foreign scientists and representatives of environmental organizations will "polish" the proposal of an economic compensation to Ecuador in exchange for not exploiting the oil field.
Not exploiting the ITT oil reserve will preserve the world's largest bio-diversity regions, Moreno said.
Moreno added that "the Ecuadorian government's initiative is considered an emblem of what the environmental conservation should be."
Quito has suspended oil drilling at the ITT for one year and has approached several foreign governments, international bodies and non-governmental organizations with the proposal that Ecuador be paid an indemnity in return for leaving the oil untapped.
The hope is to raise some 350 million dollars a year, equivalent to 50 percent of what the state would earn from the extraction of the ITT crude.
Also on Monday, Ecuadorian Foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said the Spanish government has committed a 4 million-U.S. dollar fund as an initial contribution destined for the development of micro-projects in Yasuni park.
The governments of Italy and Norway, as well as philanthropists from the United States, have also promised to aid Ecuador to preserve Yasuni park.
Ecuador's Vice President Lenin Moreno said the measure implies that some one billion barrels of crude oil will be left underground in the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil reserve.
The ITT oil reserve, the country's largest, is located in Yasuni National Park, one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world, in Ecuador's Amazon region.
Moreno told reporters that an international environment conservation workshop will be held in the capital Quito on Monday on Yasuni National Park.
During the workshop, Ecuadorian and foreign scientists and representatives of environmental organizations will "polish" the proposal of an economic compensation to Ecuador in exchange for not exploiting the oil field.
Not exploiting the ITT oil reserve will preserve the world's largest bio-diversity regions, Moreno said.
Moreno added that "the Ecuadorian government's initiative is considered an emblem of what the environmental conservation should be."
Quito has suspended oil drilling at the ITT for one year and has approached several foreign governments, international bodies and non-governmental organizations with the proposal that Ecuador be paid an indemnity in return for leaving the oil untapped.
The hope is to raise some 350 million dollars a year, equivalent to 50 percent of what the state would earn from the extraction of the ITT crude.
Also on Monday, Ecuadorian Foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said the Spanish government has committed a 4 million-U.S. dollar fund as an initial contribution destined for the development of micro-projects in Yasuni park.
The governments of Italy and Norway, as well as philanthropists from the United States, have also promised to aid Ecuador to preserve Yasuni park.
