Leaning on advice

to save its rainforests from destruction. This idea was triggered by a very specific moral dilemma. The country’s largest oil find is located underneath the Yasuni National Park, home to a unique biodiversity and several Native American tribes living as huntergatherers in isolation. Oil companies are lobbying the government in Quito for licences to start drilling, which would of course mean devastation of large areas of the National Park. Ecuador estimates that the oil reserves are worth some $6 billion, a windfall it cannot afford to miss out on. Therefore, the government is seeking to get the money from wealthy nations in exchange for a pledge to leave the oil in the ground. Recently, a German newspaper reported that Germany and other European countries may be willing to commit to pay a share of this sum into an international fund. Government sources have, however, insisted, that there is no firm deal yet. In January, the negotiations between Ecuador, the UN, and the potential donors stalled, as the Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa demanded more control for his government over the fund and threatened to let oil exploration go ahead.