Pristine Amazon Jungle Threatened by Big Oil Firm
9/30/99
OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY
The oil companies are moving in to mop up the last remote,
inaccessible rainforest wildernesses on the Planet. The title says
it all--and its happening all over. The petroleum economy is eating
us alive. Following is the tale of how Mobil is threatening one of
the most pristine rainforest valleys on the Planet, located in the
Peruvian Amazon. I'm presuming this is Mobile of U.S. fame, whose
web site is http://www.mobil.com/ . Stop in and let them know what
you think of their ecological vandalism.
g.b.
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Title: Pristine Amazon jungle threatened by big oil firm
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: September 30, 1999
Byline: Catherine Elton
*This month, Peru granted Mobil a deadline extension on a decision to
drill for natural gas in the Amazon.
LIMA, PERU
Mobil may have struck black gold - natural gas that is - in one of
the most unspoiled and biodiverse valleys in the Amazon. But it may
neither choose nor be allowed to extract it.
Mobil has until the end of February to do more exploration and
analyze data to determine whether it will release its claim on the
Candamo Valley - a 350,000-acre hidden valley that is home to
crystal-clean water, jaguars, pumas, tapirs, and anaconda - or
whether it will hold it for future development.
The recent announcement has heightened the tension in a national
debate as to whether this coveted valley should be declared a
national park or remain in private hands for hydrocarbon development,
and further exploration for energy resources, like oil and natural
gas.
"It is not the worst news. It's gas and not petroleum, the lesser of
two evils. But it's not the best news either, which would have been
that they found nothing," says Daniel Winitzky, who made a television
documentary about Candamo and is considered by many to be the
valley's foremost defender.
The Candamo Valley, often referred to as the last jungle without
humans, benefits from the natural protection of the steep mountains
surrounding it and its extremely difficult river access. For the past
half century there has been virtually no human presence in the valley
until a consortium made up of Mobil, Exxon, and Elf, entered in 1996
to look for hydrocarbons.
"I think it is one of the most pristine ecosystems around," says
biologist Carol Mitchell. "It is hard to get to and very isolated."
For these reasons, it's probably one of the last areas that's going
to be utilized by people moving into the Amazon. Ms. Mitchell works
for Conservation International, a US environmental organization,
which was contracted by Mobil to monitor its exploration work in the
area.
The research that Conservation International has done there shows
that Candamo is, in fact, one of the most biodiverse areas in the
southeastern Peruvian Amazon. Candamo is also home to a number of
endangered and vulnerable species like giant otters and giant
armadillos, a new species of fish, and possibly a new plant variety
as well.
Despite the valley's remarkable ecological characteristics, it
doesn't enjoy the protection of national park status. Originally,
Candamo was slated to be included in the Bahuaja-Sonene National Park
in southeastern Peru, but when the park was officially formed in
1996, Candamo had been written out of the limits. Conservationists
say this was because Mobil was interested in exploring the area.
Resource extraction is currently permitted in the Tambopata-Candamo
Reserve.
Between May 1996 and May 1999, Mobil executed preliminary work in the
valley. In the first phase it laid seismic lines. Based on the
results of this phase, Mobil entered into a second phase in which it
drilled a roughly 130-foot well on a nearly five-acre swath of land
beneath which it expected to find oil.
On Sept.18, the government announced that Mobil may have found as
much as 1.3 to 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the valley.
[Image] RARE RODENTS: These giant nutrias are some of the endangered
species found in the Candamo area of Peru's Amazon. Pumas, jaguars,
tapirs, and many unclassified fish and plants also thrive here.
WALTER WUST
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At this point, environmental damage has been relatively low. Mobil
has not built any roads into the valley, accessing it solely by
helicopter. There was one minor accident in the valley when heavy
rains caused a small landslide on the hill where Mobil's well was
located. Nonetheless, Mitchell says that the overall impact of the
exploratory phase on the ecosystem of Candamo has been "minimal."
But should Mobil decide to move into the development phase, that
would be a different story. "I think even if an oil company does
things in the best way possible with all the best technology
available in 1999, they are not able to guarantee that there won't be
an accident, and an accident could mean that we could lose this place
forever," says filmmaker Mr. Winitzky.
Mobil's office in Lima refused multiple requests for an interview on
the issue of Candamo. A clause of the law that formed Bahuaja-Sonene
National Park allows for Candamo to be included in it in the future,
if it is released from Mobil's contract. And that is precisely what
the majority of Peruvians would like to see happen, according to a
recent poll.
Peru's decision to grant a deadline extension has roused suspicion
that the government is quite anxious to pursue exploration and
eventual financial benefits, despite popular opinion.
In June, Mayeutica, the Peruvian research firm that has done polls
for companies like Coca-Cola and Procter and Gamble among others,
included two questions on Candamo in a national poll they conducted
of 18- to 70-year-olds across the country. Of the people interviewed,
75 percent knew what Candamo is, and of those, 84 percent said it
should be declared a national park, while 16 percent said it should
be drilled for oil.
But the decision is not up to Peruvian citizens. "What is so
incredible about this situation is that the decision is in the hands
of a multinational corporation," Winitzky says. "I think that oil
companies would also benefit greatly in terms of image by having
contributed in the protection of an area of such high ecological
value."