Pristine Amazon Jungle Threatened by Big Oil Firm

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of forests.org

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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

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."

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