Weekly Report - 13 July 2023 (WR-23-28)

The future of oil drilling in Ecuador’s Yasuní national park hangs in the balance ahead of a 20 August referendum on whether to outlaw it. Yasuní, one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth, is also home to one of Ecuador’s richest oil deposits – the Ishpingo, Tambococha, and Tiputini oilfields, collectively known as the ITT, or block 43. Despite the threat hanging over investment at the ITT, the government is pushing ahead with an auction for drilling rights in nearby blocks 16 and 67, which are in the Yasuní buffer zone but will not be impacted by the referendum.