oxmox 73 Posted June 5, 2015 Bolivia opens up national parks to oil and gas firms New law permitting hydrocarbons operations in “protected areas†sparks major concerns for people and the environment The Madidi National Park in north-west Bolivia is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. One particularly astonishing fact: the park hosts 11% of the world’s bird species, according to Bolivia’s park service, SERNAP, and the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society. Madidi is just one of 22 “protected areas†in Bolivia - all of which are now more threatened than ever by government policy opening up huge new areas to oil and gas. Over 20 million hectares across the country have been identified, contracts signed, and on 20 May a new law was declared specifically permitting “the development of hydrocarbon exploration activities in the different zones and categories within protected areasâ€, and stipulating what companies should do if they make “commercially-viable discoveries†and want to exploit them. “This is absolutely not the kind of policy we expected from president Morales after such big speeches and discourses about Mother Earth and Pachamama and how we should start living in harmony with her,†Capriles says. “What we have seen in these nine or 10 years of government is that our natural resources and our forests - the richness of Bolivia - has been depleted much more than any other period of time.†Campanini told the Guardian that the new law also “makes viable†exploration in “protected areas†for which the government has already signed contracts - with Repsol, Petrobras, France’s Total, Russia’s Gazprom and China’s Eastern Petroleum and Gas. Some of these contracts were signed relatively recently, while others, such as Repsol’s and Petrobras’s concessions in Madidi, date back to 2007 but were effectively blocked by opposition and have lain “dormant for various years.†http://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2015/jun/05/bolivia-national-parks-oil-gas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spooky lynx 73 Posted June 14, 2015 Let's hope they won't find anything there. Exploration activities aren't so harmful as production. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
