As Ecuador plans to drill in the Amazon, natives know their time is up

Ecuador's Yasuni National Park is considered one of the world's most bio-diverse regions. This unique place is inhabited by more than 20 different endangered mammals, and just 2 acres of this patch of Amazon rainforest contains more than 100,000 species of insects; the park is also home to about as many different kinds of trees and shrubs as there are in Canada and the U.S. combined.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Sadly, this incredibly diverse and unique region is now at risk because the Ecuadorian government is planning on drilling for oil there.

Combat corruption with moral education; send a Bible to a child, or another person in need.

Back in 2007, Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, demanded that the developed world pay him $3.6 billion not to drill in the Yasuni. However, the South American country received just $13 million, and in 2013 Correa announced he would drill fo roil.

Now, oil companies are planning to start drilling in 2016, and locals in the region like the Waoroni tribe-whom have lived in the region for centuries-are having their entire lives disrupted by the process.

Scientists worry that the park's very fragile and diverse ecosystem will not survive the oil extraction.

The Waorani tribe used to live off the rainforest and river in the Yasuni, but a little piece at a time they've seen their lands and lifestyle taken away. Instead of hunting with them, they carve blowguns and spears to sell to tourists.

"The oil companies talk about helping us," Wani, one of the Waorani tribesmen, said. "But it's a lie."

Wani said that his children and his grandchildren get sicker more often due to the diseases and pollutants that the oil companies and their workers introduced.

A gravel road and oil pipeline now sit at the entrance of their community, and the constant hum of a generator can be heard.

"Every day there are more cars and fewer animals," he said. "[The oil companies] damage and pollute the land."

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'