I begin by quoting a paragraph from the newsletter of Butterfly Conservation:

Sadly, as our State of Butterflies 2022 reported earlier this year, 80% of butterfly species have decreased since the 1980’s – this drop is telling us that our wider natural world is in trouble.

https://butterfly-conservation.org/

https://butterfly-conservation.org/

And on the same day, my Scottish Wildlife alerts me to the fact that ‘97% of the UK species-rich grasslands have disappeared’.

https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/

Our heavily industrialised nation has contributed to the death of Nature.

Let us fight for Nature and the rights of indigenous people who still live in pristine, biodiverse territories.

I am reproducing extracts from the Ecologist

https://theecologist.org/

newsletter: This is a cry for support of Ecuadorian and other protectors:

Ecuador: the fight has just begun

Ecuador’s successful referendum should protect vital biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest.

Millions of Ecuadorians took part in a nationwide referendum that will keep oil in the ground at the Yasuní National Park in the Amazon rainforest. This was accompanied by a ban on gold mining in the Chocó Andino de Pichincha, a fragile highland biosphere reserve near Quito, the capital city, writes Yasmin Dahnoun.


This article has been published through the Ecologist Writers’ Fund.


The ban on oil development in part of the Yasuní Amazon reserve passed with 59 per cent approval. The ban on mining in the Chocó Andino forest near Quito had 68 per cent support. This should result in the closure of 12 oil platforms and about 230 wells that produce approximately 57,000 barrels of oil per day in Yasuní territory, as well as six gold concessions in Chocó Andino.


The referendum revolved around the decision to halt oil operations in the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) block, situated at the heart of Yasuní National Park. It was held after Ecuador’s electoral court validated more than 750,000 signatures amassed by the YASunidos campaign group almost nine years ago.


Biodiverse


Antonella Calle Avilés started campaigning at the age of 19 and has dedicated the last decade to the campaign. Her work has finally paid off.

Ecologist Newsletter

The article continues:

She told The Ecologist: “When YASunidos began collecting signatures in 2013, the then-president Raphael Correa dismissed 60 per cent of the signatures as fake. The group then embarked on a nine-year legal battle to authenticate the signatures.

“Ecuador has now set a precedent for the world by becoming the first country to leave petroleum untapped beneath the ground as a measure against climate change. This sends a message to the global population to stand up against the fossil fuel industry, rather than relying solely on politicians.”

Drilling in the national park began in 2016 despite the cries of local Indigenous communities and scientists, who described the region as “among the most biodiverse places on Earth, with apparent world richness records for amphibians, reptiles, bats, and trees.” They pointed out that Yasuní also protects a considerable number of threatened and local species.

Ecuador has now set a precedent for the world by becoming the first country to leave petroleum untapped beneath the ground as a measure against climate change. This sends a message.

And of particular note is an awareness of the hollow promises of benefits to local people if DRILLING is approved in pristine areas of the world:

“The notion that petroleum extraction would improve health care and education is a fallacy. Due to corruption, the revenue from fossil fuels rarely benefits society. The victory in the referendum signifies a turning point towards cleaner water and soil. Forests are no longer being felled, and a programme for nature regeneration has commenced.”