Academic literature on the topic 'Yasuní-ITT'

The Yasuní-ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini) Initiative consisted of leaving the oil underground in a part of Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorean Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. The financial compensation was to be invested in renewable energy, protection of biodiversity, and conservation of 44 protected areas. This initiative proposed a change of imaginaries. One of its most important contributions was questioning the fundamental role of oil in our capitalist and productivist society. With this project, which was linked to the National Plan for Living Well, Ecuador was moving toward a post-petroleum-based society and the pursuit of better living standards through bio-knowledge. La Iniciativa Yasuní-ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini) consistió en dejar el crudo bajo tierra de una parte del Parque Nacional Yasuní, en la Amazonía ecuatoriana, considerada como una de las más biodiversa del mundo. La compensación financiera seriá invertida en diferentes ámbitos como las energías renovables para cambiar la matriz energética, el cuidado del ambiente para proteger la biodiversidad, conservar las 44 áreas protegidas. Esta iniciativa propuso un cambio de imaginarios. Una de sus aportaciones más importantes era su cuestionamiento del rol de la base de nuestra sociedad capitalista y productivista: el petróleo. Con este proyecto que estaba vinculado al Plan Nacional para el Buen Vivir, el Ecuador se dirigió hacia una sociedad post-petrolera y apuesta a una sociedad del buen vivir basado en el bioconocimiento.

This article explores the saga of the campaign to save the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) block of the Yasuní National Park in Ecuador's Western Amazon, a story of the complex transnational networks and global governance mechanisms that have emerged to create post-Kyoto solutions for the planet. Ecuador's Yasuní-ITT Initiative to keep nearly 900 million barrels of oil underground in exchange for global contributions for avoided emissions presents an alternative norm for global environmental governance in line with the indigenous concept of buen vivir, or the good life. This means living in harmony with nature, and is embodied in the Ecuadorian Constitution of 2008. These changes, however, are not without pressures and inconsistencies at the domestic and international levels. Ultimately, the Yasuní-ITT Initiative and subsequent UNDP Yasuní Trust Fund offer replicable models for other fossil fuel dependent and megadiverse countries in the developing world.

In Ecuador, following the late 2000’s commodity boom, a populist government invested increased oil revenues into social spending, reducing inequality, and gaining a rare period of political stability. The Yasuní National Park has been the focal point of this dynamic since 2006 when the government endorsed a ground-breaking plan to protect the park called the Yasuni ITT initiative. The initiative’s demise in 2013 raises the question: what explains the government’s initial support of, and then rejection of the ITT initiative? Upon combining the theories of extractive imperative and limited access order, this paper’s thesis is that, given Ecuador’s choice to fund public services through extractive industry rents, reducing extractive industry rents through constraining extractive industries is too painful politically. These theories help to structure a narrative, producing insights into the political dynamic impacting the ITT initiative and its eventual collapse. This thesis pursues its investigation through a case study of Yasuní National Park.

El presente artículo aborda las principales problemáticas surgidas a la raíz de la Iniciativa Yasuní ITT por la cual el Ecuador pretendía evitar la explotación del petróleo en el Bloque 34 del Parque Nacional Yasuní. Además, analiza las posibilidades que ofrecen alternativas como el Protocolo de Montreal para una más efectiva aplicación de medidas relativas a la preservación y conservación del medioambiente. Finalmente, se relexiona sobre la responsabilidad de la comunidad internacional y el rol del Presidente de Ecuador, Rafael Correa, en el fracaso de la Iniciativa.

La Iniciativa Yasuní – ITT representó una propuesta innovadora y de vanguardia del Estado ecuatoriano, orientada a posicionar a nivel mundial un cambio de prioridades en el modelo de desarrollo imperante con base a la preservación de bienes y servicios ambientales fundamentales para la vida en el planeta y a la corresponsabilidad de los Estados en este objetivo. Buscó para ello el apoyo de la comunidad internacional a la decisión estatal de no explotar el campo petrolero “Ishpingo – Tiputini – Tambococha” (ITT), ubicado al noreste del Parque Nacional Yasuní, en la Amazonía ecuatoriana, donde existían reservas probadas de crudo de petróleo de al menos 920 millones de barriles. Esta medida representaba para la economía ecuatoriana, prescindir de un ingreso potencial de 7000 mil millones de dólares, al tiempo de evitar la emisión a la atmósfera de aproximadamente 407 millones de toneladas de CO2. Este fue el planteamiento central del discurso del Presidente del Ecuador al presentar formalmente la iniciativa ante la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, el 24 de septiembre de 2007. Un elemento destacado que, igualmente, se buscaba proteger con el desarrollo de esta iniciativa, era la tutela del derecho de los pueblos indígenas en aislamiento voluntario que habitan principalmente dentro del Parque Nacional Yasuní, conocidos como los Tagaeri y Taromenane. La no explotación del Bloque ITT fortalecería la medida de protección implementada por el Gobierno de Ecuador a través de la creación de una Zona Intangible que prohibía las actividades extractivas dentro del perímetro que se consideraba como el que ancestralmente ocupan dichos pueblos. Hasta el 15 de agosto de 2013, cuando el propio Presidente Rafael Correa expidió el Decreto Ejecutivo No.074 que dispuso la terminación del fideicomiso creado para financiar la Iniciativa Yasuní-ITT, el impulso de la misma constituyó un emblema de la política exterior del país. El respaldo que sumó en sus inicios por parte de un creciente número de sectores y movimientos sociales a nivel nacional, así como de varios Estados, organismos internacionales y personalidades a nivel mundial, finalmente no se concretó con el aporte económico esperado. De acuerdo a los registros de la Iniciativa, hacia el final de su vigencia se habían recaudado cerca de 13 millones y medio de dólares, cuando el monto mínimo requerido de aporte para dejar el petróleo bajo tierra y que opere el fondo con el que se desarrollarían proyectos de conservación y desarrollo sostenible, era de 100 millones de dólares hasta el 2011 y de 3600 millones en trece años. Más allá de las lecturas y comprensiones que generó su terminación y la posterior decisión del Gobierno ecuatoriano de avanzar con el proyecto de explotación de los Bloques Petroleros 31 y 43 dentro del Parque Nacional Yasuní, el impulso de la Iniciativa Yasuní-ITT logró trascender en las agendas de las políticas públicas del nivel nacional e internacional. Así, mientras a lo interno propició un debate inédito en la población sobre las ventajas y desventajas de la relación existente entre actividades extractivas vs. conservación de la naturaleza, a nivel externo incidió en la exploración de nuevas formas de contribución de los Estados a los compromisos sobre el cambio climático. Su no concreción para dar paso nuevamente a la extracción de petróleo es, como éste, un oscuro aprendizaje de un dilema ético que desgarra la conciencia de nuestra civilización.

Na tentativa de solucionar os problemas socioambientais vivenciados pelo avanço da frente petroleira no país, o Equador propôs ao mundo um projeto inovador: renunciar à exploração do petróleo contido no subsolo dos campos Ishpingo Tambococa Tiputini, localizados na porção centro sul da Amazônia equatoriana, em troca de uma compensação financeira da comunidade internacional. Apesar de ter recebido muito apoio de outros Estados e de inúmeras organizações internacionais, a Iniciativa falhou, tendo o então Presidente Rafael Correa anunciado seu fim em maio de 2013. A falha dessa empreitada representa um exemplo claro da insuficiência contida nos discursos de sustentabilidade e cooperação assumidos não só pela comunidade internacional, mas pelo próprio Equador, cujas inconsistências esse artigo se prestou a analisar. Para tanto, utilizou-se dos métodos hipotético-dedutivo e descritivo, com realização de pesquisa bibliográfica.

In 2007, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador proposed the Yasuní ITT Initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in an effort to contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and the local preservation of biodiversity. The initiative proposed enacting an indefinite ban on oil exploration and extraction within the Ecuadorian Yasuní National Park so long as the developed world was willing to contribute to half the forgone costs of drilling. However, despite initial support, the Yasuní Initiative was unsuccessful, and due to a lack of financial support, Correa terminated the proposal in August 2013. With the increasing threat of climate change, the recent Paris Agreement highlights the need for bold actions such as those proposed by the Yasuní Initiative—which represents a solution that the global community needs. This paper looks at the history of the Yasuní Initiative from its inception to ultimate termination, as a developing country’s efforts to take part in the broader discussion of global warming and climate change. The Yasuní Initiative is examined within the context of Ecuador’s relation to oil, the country’s position as a steward of primary forest habitat that acts as a major carbon sink with rich biological and cultural diversity, in addition to the effect that the oil industry has had on the country with close attention to the Amazon region.

Memoria (magíster en derecho internacional, inversión, comercio y arbitraje internacional)
Climate change is a reality and its adverse effects are already evident. Today, it is undeniable that temperature is rising, glaciers are melting, precipitation patterns are changing, producing heavy rains and floods in some regions; and droughts and desertification in others. As a result of these alterations in the climate, natural ecosystems and human life are being affected. Awareness with regard to the negative consequences of climate changes, the international community has established specific environmental policies and concluded international agreements so as to mitigate and avoid the occurrence of these outcomes. In this respect, the most important instruments addressing this issue are United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, which aim at limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Member States through the establishment of emission reduction targets, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The Kyoto Protocol also created three mechanisms: The Emission Trading System (ETS), the Joint Implementation (JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The first two mechanisms can be used exclusively by industrialized countries to meet their binding reduction requirements. While the CDM is the only tool for coping with climate change that allows the participation of developing and least developed countries in environmental mitigation activities. This fact is considered a limitation of the current climate regime since these countries are more vulnerable to dangerous impacts of climate change due to their economies depend greatly on the exploitation of natural resources and they have limited or no financial and technological capacity to respond effectively to this challenge.

El Yasuní, és l'àrea protegida més gran de l'Equador continental i una de les zones de major diversitat genètica del planeta. A més, és la llar de diversos pobles indígenes, entre ells pobles en aïllament voluntari. Així mateix, és un espai sotmès a l'extracció petroliera ja que se situa en una zona estratègica per l'Equador en matèria energètica. L'Estat, en el seu afany de satisfer la necessitat energètica i sostenir les finances i l'economia nacional, promou l'aprofitament de recursos naturals no renovables com el petroli, la qual cosa ha implicat no solament degradacions ambientals en tot el país, sinó també afectacions directes als drets dels pobles indígenes, per la coincidència de zones mega diverses i territoris indígenes amb les instal•lacions petrolieres. En aquest context, el 2007 va sorgir la Iniciativa Yasuní-ITT, que buscava, entre altres objectius, respectar el territori de les comunitats indígenes que viuen al Yasuní abstenint-se d’explotar les reserves petrolieres del bloc ITT per temps indefinit. No obstant això, aquesta Iniciativa va finalitzar el 2013 al no complir-se amb els objectius econòmics previstos per tal què la seva execució fos viable. La present tesi explora la relació existent a l’Equador entre explotació petroliera i drets dels pobles indígenes, concretament al Yasuní i més específicament davant la decisió d'explotació del bloc ITT. Mitjançant l'estudi del marc jurídic nacional i internacional dels drets dels pobles indígenes es busca determinar la seva situació jurídica per així establir si l'explotació del ITT posa en risc la seva supervivència física i cultural o interfereix amb els seus drets, tals com el dret a la propietat, a la participació, a la consulta i els drets específics dels pobles en aïllament voluntari. A més de considerar de manera general les implicacions per a la resta dels equatorians.
El Yasuní es el área protegida más grande del Ecuador continental y una de las zonas de mayor diversidad genética del planeta. Además, es el hogar de varios pueblos indígenas, entre ellos, pueblos en aislamiento voluntario. Asimismo, es un espacio sometido a la extracción petrolera por encontrarse ubicado en una zona estratégica para el Ecuador en materia energética. El Estado en su afán de satisfacer la necesidad energética y sostener las finanzas y la economía nacional, promueve el aprovechamiento de recursos naturales no renovables como el petróleo, lo que ha implicado no solo degradaciones ambientales en todo el país sino también afectaciones directas a los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, por la coincidencia de zonas mega diversas y territorios indígenas con las instalaciones petroleras. En este contexto surgió en 2007 la Iniciativa Yasuní-ITT, que buscaba entre otros objetivos, respetar el territorio de las comunidades indígenas que viven en el Yasuní mediante la abstención de explotación de las reservas petroleras del bloque ITT por tiempo indefinido. No obstante, dicha Iniciativa finalizó en 2013 al no cumplirse con los objetivos económicos previstos para que su ejecución fuera viable. La presente tesis explora la relación existente en Ecuador entre explotación petrolera y derechos de los pueblos indígenas, concretamente en el Yasuní y más específicamente ante la decisión de explotación del bloque ITT. Mediante el estudio del marco jurídico nacional e internacional de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas se busca determinar su situación jurídica para así establecer si la explotación del ITT pone en riesgo su supervivencia física y cultural o interfiere con sus derechos, tales como el derecho a la propiedad, a la participación, a la consulta y los derechos específicos de los pueblos en aislamiento voluntario. Además de considerar de manera general las implicaciones para el resto de los ecuatorianos también.
Yasuní is the largest protected area of continental Ecuador and one of the world’s greatest genetically diverse areas. It is also home to several indigenous peoples, including those in voluntary isolation. At the same time it is an area subject to oil extraction since it is located in a zone considered strategic for Ecuador’s energy sector. On its effort to meet its energy needs and sustaining its finances and the country’s economy, the State encourages the use of the non-renewable natural resources such as oil, situation that has led not only to environmental degradation all over the country but has also had effects on the rights of indigenous populations, as mega diverse areas and indigenous territories often coincide with oil extraction facilities. It is within this context that in 2007 the Yasuní-ITT Initiative was launched. Among others, one of the objectives of the Initiative was to respect the territories of the indigenous communities that inhabit the Yasuní by leaving the oil reserves in the ITT oil block underground indefinitely. Nevertheless, this Initiative was abandoned in 2013 after not meeting the established economic goals required for its implementation to be feasible. This thesis explores the relationship between oil exploitation and indigenous peoples’ rights in Ecuador, particularly in the Yasuní and more specifically in relation with the decision of exploiting the ITT oil block. By studying the international and national legal frameworks of the rights of indigenous peoples we intend to determine their legal status in order to establish whether the ITT exploitation jeopardizes their physical and cultural survival or interferes with their rights, such as property right, the right to participate, to be consulted and the specific rights of peoples in voluntary isolation. Plus, we will also take into account the general implications for the rest of the Ecuadorians.

Masters in Science
Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning
Stephanie A. Rolley
This case study considers the lessons of Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT initiative for future climate change policy and international conservation and development efforts. A comprehensive post-cancellation history of the initiative and background information regarding key domestic and international actors and institutions is presented in the Literature Review. Documents identified from LexisNexis and Google searches are analyzed to identify seven narratives of the initiative’s failure, which provide a basis for the suggestion of lessons. Questions regarding supply-side climate policy opportunities and challenges are explored. The initiative’s political mismanagement, design omissions and insufficient domestic political efforts, and a lack of contribution incentives are identified as the key causes of failure. The author concludes that the initiative’s supply-side model of shared sacrifices has the potential to align developed and developing country needs in support of greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals while addressing the difficulties posed by an emergent political economy of developing world resource extractivism in Ecuador and elsewhere. Future research regarding supply-side climate policies is suggested.

Tese no âmbito do Doutoramento Direito, Justiça e Cidadania no Século XXI, apresentada à Faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Coimbra
A economia das sociedades mundiais do século XX reconheceram no petróleo a sua principal fonte de energia. Contudo, a partir do século XXI, muitas alterações ocorreram face às possibilidades de esgotamento, das oscilações de preços do óleo negro, além das mudanças climáticas e dos impactos sociais destes processos e de ocorrências que colocaram o aprimoramento de fontes alternativas de energias como um debate medular. Apesar disso, o petróleo continua relevante na economia capitalista. Em que pese as contradições quanto ao decréscimo das divisas oriundas da exploração petrolífera na América Latina e até mesmo privatização das empresas de energia, os governos denominados à esquerda nas últimas décadas adotaram essa matriz energética como a principal fonte de financiamento do seu desenvolvimento social. Fundaram, na renda do extrativismo dos recursos naturais, a inversão em políticas de redução das desigualdades sociais em várias áreas. Acarretando em mudanças expressivas, porém limitadas, no cenário político e econômico da região. Parte das crises políticas do Estado na América Latina estão ligadas ao extrativismo dos recursos naturais destinados aos centros hegemônicos do capitalismo. É deste cenário mais amplo que esta tese ganha robustez. O caso a ser analisado é o do Equador, que experienciou um período de bonança petroleira, porém o país não conseguiu dar o salto esperado e romper com as estruturas que o prendem ao subdesenvolvimento, não alçou o seu chamado Buen Vivir, sendo esta uma das conclusões deste trabalho. A contradição deste cenário no Equador é sobrelevada na abertura das explorações petrolíferas no Parque Yasuní (área de preservação ambiental e indígena). Fato que colocou o ex-presidente Rafael Correa em disputa com líderes indígenas do país que foram seus maiores apoiadores no primeiro mandato. O governo que reconheceu constitucionalmente a natureza como sujeito de direitos, inaugurou um projeto Yasuní ITT bastante inovador que intencionava não explorar uma grande quantidade de petróleo localizado nesta reserva ambiental, se mostrou atrofiado ao extrativismo. Em 2013 o projeto anti extrativista foi abandonado o projeto anti extrativista foi abandonado em nome do desenvolvimento e do progresso, que atualmente o que pode ser entendido como simbólico de um mais novo projeto desenvolvimentista capitalista. Esta tese analisa os desdobramentos desta contradição equatoriana, ou seja, o projeto Yasuní ITT que pretendia deixar o petróleo debaixo da terra, evitando a emissão de toneladas de dióxido de carbono no ar, preservando a Amazônia e os povos originários; em contraponto com o modelo de Estado Plurinacional baseado em uma inovadora Constituição dentro de um capitalismo dependente. O período analisado concerne entre 2013 a 2016, justificado da decisão pela exploração no governo Correista. Inspirando-me nas Epistemologias do Sul identificamos no terreno, os impactos, silêncios e contradições que perpassam estas mudanças.
National economies of the 20th century world society have recognized oil as their main source of energy. However, in the turn of the 21st century, many changes have occurred in the face of oil depletion, crude oil price fluctuations, climate change and its social impacts, leading us to seek to enhance alternative energy sources. Nevertheless, oil remains unprecedentedly relevant in the capitalist economy until today. In spite of the contradictions following the decrease of the currencies derived from oil exploration in Latin America, and even the privatization of national energy companies, left-wing governments in recent decades have adopted this energy source as a driving force and necessary condition to fund their social development agenda. Financed by the revenues from the extraction of natural resources, these rentier states were able to pass reformist policies meant to reduce social inequalities in various areas. These have resulted in significant but limited changes in the political and economic landscape of the region. The political crises that have lately destabilized the Latin America state can be partially explained by the fact that the extraction of natural resources remains oriented towards the needs of the hegemonic centers of capitalism. It is in reference to this broader scenario that this thesis dissects the case of Ecuador. A country that has just experienced a period of oil boom, Ecuador failed to make the leap and break with the structures that binds it to a scenario of underdevelopment. Most importantly, it categorically failed to implement the so-called Buen Vivir doctrine, which is one of the most important conclusions of my research. The contradiction of the scenario in Ecuador manifests itself in the opening of oil reserves located in the Yasuní Park, an environmental and indigenous preservation area. This proved to be a decision that polarized the former president Rafael Correa against the indigenous leaders of the country who had been his biggest supporters in the first term. The government, which had constitutionally recognized nature as a subject of rights and first inaugurated a rather innovative Yasuní ITT project intended not to exploit a large amount of oil located in this environmental reserve, ended up reproducing the logics of extractivism. In 2013, the anti-extractive project was abandoned in the name of development and progress, which can in retrospect be understood as reminiscent of another capitalist development project. This thesis analyzes the consequences of this Ecuadorian contradiction, namely how the Yasuní ITT project, which at first intended to leave oil underground, thus preventing high carbon dioxide emissions and preserving the Amazon and the original peoples, in reality contrasted with the Pluractional State model, its innovative constitution and, especially, its dependent capitalist economy. I analyze the period between 2013 to 2016, as it juxtaposes with the Correista administration which is the ultimate responsible for the decision to exploit oil in the Yasuní Park. Through an approach inspired by the Epistemologies from the South, I identify the impacts, silencing mechanisms and contradictions that permeate these policy changes.
Financiada pela Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), através da Bolsa de Pesquisa

The epilogue provides an update on the Waorani and missionaries from about 1995 to 2015. For most of this time, Steve Saint, Nate Saint’s older son, was the face of American evangelical involvement. Saint criticized a dependence on missionaries that he said was destroying the Wao church. With Mart Green and others, Saint used a film, The End of the Spear, to introduce a new generation of Americans to the Ecuador missionary martyr narrative. In Ecuador, young Waorani juggled ethnic identity and the pressures of modern life. The failure of the Yasuní-ITT Initiative jeopardized the biodiversity of Wao lands. The Wao political organization, renamed Waorani Nationality of Amazonian Ecuador, struggled for legitimacy. Never more than 20 to 25 percent of the population were professing Christians as young Waorani struggled to find the meaning of faith for themselves. The long-term future remains uncertain.