Assessing the Yasuni ITT Initiative in Ecuador

This is a project investigating and building local capacity to further investigate and propose public policy towards the Yasuní-ITT initiative of the Ecuadorian government. This initiative proposes to leave extremely large oil reserves in the ground in order to avoid the potentially devastating effects that their exploitation might have on the local environment – one extremely important for global biodiversity - on climate change and on the indigenous people of the region. In return, the initiative seeks partial compensation for Ecuador for development purposes from the international community. This initiative is therefore at the heart of a series of development issues related to resources exploitation and management, environmental and climate changes questions and issues of indigeneity and development. This is part of a wider series of proposals in the region aimed at balancing economic objectives with environmental aims and effects on indigenous peoples.