Oil and gas projects in western Amazon threaten biodiversity and indigenous peoples

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 - 07:56 in Earth & Climate

The western Amazon, home to the most biodiverse and intact rainforest left on Earth, may soon be covered with oil rigs and pipelines. According to a new study, over 180 oil and gas 'blocks' - areas zoned for exploration and development - now cover the megadiverse western Amazon, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and western Brazil. These oil and gas blocks stretch over 688,000 km2 (170 million acres), a vast area, nearly the size of Texas...

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