BOLIVIA: Bolivians protest against government search for petroleum reserves in the Madidi National Park

Record ID: 343926

  • Title: BOLIVIA: Bolivians protest against government search for petroleum reserves in the Madidi National Park
  • Date: 4th September 2009
  • Summary: LOCAL CHILDREN SWIMMING IN THE RIVER MAN WATCHING FROM BRIDGE CHILDREN RUNNING OUT OF RIVER
  • Embargoed: 19th September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7EQ7N1XKXMJC4LUFDLAZZ7ZEO
  • Story Text: Indigenous and environmental groups in Bolivia fear that a government search for petroleum reserves in the giant Madidi National Park could damage the area's unique flora and fauna.
    The vast Madidi national park, located in western Bolivia, stretches from the Andes to the Amazon basin and is said to be one of the most biodiverse areas on earth.
    But it is also believed to be home to large oil reserves, which the government began exploring in October 2008.
    Some indigenous and environmental groups in the area are opposed to the exploration efforts, fearing they will lead to further environmental degradation in an area that they say already faces deforestation through logging.
    "We are facing a clear dilemma: to promote this part of the country as we already have been, maybe organizing and promoting tourism more, or turn to a completely different development model with the exploitation of petroleum, biofuels, intensive sugar cane plantations. Which is a completely different vision, that is based in mono-plantations, large investments, large inputs, pesticides, contamination of the rivers, probable huge new dams; so, a completely different proposal than the one brought forward by this same government," said Patricia Molina, national coordinator of the Fobomade environmental group.
    The Bolivia government is led by the country's first indigenous president Evo Morales who nationalized the energy industry soon after his election.
    Government officials announced in 2007 that its state oil firm YPFB would join with its larger Venezuelan counterpart PDVSA for the Madidi project, with an investment of more than $1 billion.
    It was part of a pledge by President Morales to explore for oil in the poor, western region, where he has strong political support.
    The two state oil companies formed Petroandina, and hired the Houston-based geophysical service provider Geokinetics to carry out the survey project.
    Carlos Espinoza, the social and environmental director at the government's Hydrocarbons Ministry, said that all of the local communities had agreed to the support the survey before operations started.
    "In each community we have consulted the populations and explained to them all the aspects of the project and the possible impacts," said Carlos Espinoza, the social and environment director at the government's Hydrocarbons Ministry.
    Eight indigenous communities hold territories in and bordering on the Madidi National Park and seven of them approved the exploration.
    The only community that opposed was Simay, whose leaders say that the other tribal heads -- called "caciques" -- received bribes so they would vote in favor of the project.
    "[The other communities] have said it themselves: 'They have given us the money, but what are we going to do with that?' It is not even one thousand dollars. Maybe some of the communities have received more, but what are they going to do with that, it won't cover anything. But, well, we are going to start reprimanding the caciques [local tribal leaders], because it has happened now," Simay indigenous leader, Wilma Mendoza Miro, said.
    Environmental groups support the opposition, saying that instead of laying explosives to carry out seismic studies of area's oil reserves like in this part of the forest, Madidi could be further developed for tourism and organic farming.
    "The region is generating a lot of income through tourism and is becoming known for being a point of access to the Andean Amazon, which is the part of the Amazon jungle that has the greatest biodiversity, and there is also a series of related organic products that are being generated," Molina said.
    The other tribal communities deny the claims they have taken any bribes, and say they approved the government survey in order to bring investment into the area and channel resources into their communities.
    "The people wanted comforts like drinking water, they wanted things to improve, to have a better quality of life. There was a strong support in the community to have access to water, and for the quality of life to improve, and that was an important factor [in the approval of the petroleum exploration] in the area. This is a place, which as your can see, has been left behind for a long time," said Enrique Romero, tribal leader of the Cobendo community.
    Natural resources are the only major industry in impoverished Bolivia, which exported $3 billion worth of natural gas to Argentina and Brazil in 2009.
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