Ecuador’s Yasuní Initiative at a Standstill, with

President Correa Fast Losing his Appeal as a

Magnanimous Visionary with a Capacity to be More

than Mean-Spirited

For decades, environmental activists have argued that environmental stewardship – especially in developing countries – is an international responsibility as well as a domestic one. The fact is that Ecuador is one of the most geographically and biographically diverse nations in the world, with specific ecological niches ranging from those of the volcanoes of the Galápagos Islands, páramos in the Saraguro highland region and the imposing, snowy peaks of Cotopaxi, visible on everyday bus rides from Quito to Cumbayá. These features allow Ecuador to boast a level of biodiversity in flora and fauna that rivals countries and regions thirty times its size.

Starting in the 1972, the Andean nation began exporting oil by means of the U.S. international petroleum giant Chevron (now Chevron/Texaco), defendants in the notorious court case Aguinda v. Chevron/Texaco. Environmentalists in Ecuador unanimously argue that the company contaminated the historically indigenous lands of the Waorani and Shuar, which in turn so damaged the public health and ecological recuperative capacity to the extent that the affected area is now commonly referred to as the “Rainforest Chernobyl.” At this point, President Rafael Correa has taken the idea of international environmental stewardship to a new and dramatically higher level with his pioneering Yasuní-ITT initiative. Although initially his plan was met with enthusiasm by world leaders and conservation groups alike, recently Correa has acted loudly, if not irrationally and boorishly, as he threatens to go ahead and drill if financial contributions are not summarily made to his country. These actions have left Correa sounding more like a blackmailer than a saintly leader in environmental protection. Today Correa’s former admirers are falling over each other to escape from his embracing mantle.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Nicole Fillion-Robin