Science warns against drilling the most biodiverse rainforest on Earth – News Watch.

Posted by Stuart Pimm

The Ecuadorian government is currently racing ahead with plans to drill for oil in the core of what is arguably the most biodiverse corner of the planet: Blocks 31 and ITT of the famed Yasuní National Park. This new aggressive push for oil drilling comes as a stunning backlash to the failure of a 6-year initiative seeking international financial compensation in exchange for leaving the oil permanently underground.

In response, the “Scientists Concerned for Yasuní” – a group of more than 100 scientists from Ecuador and 18 other countries around the world – submitted a statement to the Ecuadorian Congress detailing the extraordinary biodiversity of the park and strongly warning against allowing new oil drilling in its core. (English and Spanish versions of the statement appear below.)