Ecuador: Unprecedented oil drilling brings new tensions

washingtonpost.com reported that an unprecedented drilling push by Ecuador’s government has brought new tensions to Yawepare and the country’s Amazon lowlands. As the chain saws and bulldozers cut deeper into the forest, critics say the government is triggering brutal warfare between the Waorani and a smaller, breakaway tribe living in “voluntary isolation” beyond the oil frontier…..Augusto Tandazo, an energy consultant in Quito, the capital, notes that Ecuador’s government is constitutionally obligated to develop its oil resources, and although parts of the Yasuni park belong to the tribes, they do not own the oil beneath it. He laid out the case for drilling in rapid-fire fashion: Ecuador’s energy consumption has nearly doubled in the past decade. The country needs to grow and invest in infrastructure, education and job creation to benefit its 14 million people. Ecuador’s economy is heavily oil dependent, and without the ITT, production falls and takes Ecuador down with it. Read Article

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