Bolivia will explore for oil in seven of 22 protected reserves, the president said Tuesday, sparking outcry from opposition activists.
President Evo Morales pledged the exploration would not have detrimental environmental impacts, and said the government had held "consultations" before making the decision to search for oil in the protected lands.
"We have every right to conduct explorations... and we will do it with all our strength," he said.
Environmental activists decried the move, and said the explorations could impact vulnerable communities and flora and fauna.
"These measures threaten protected areas and do not respect... the rights of communities and peoples who live in these protected areas," said Marco Gandarillas, the director of the Center for Documentation and Information (Cedib).
State-owned oil company YPFB president Guillermo Acha said local residents had been consulted and compensated.
"Bolivia has two processes of consultation and participation with the regions where it plans to perform these activities," Acha said.
The land earmarked for exploration accounts for 0.04 percent of the seven parks named, which make up 3.9 million hectares of land in total.
Some 17.2 million hectares of Bolivia's total 109 million hectares are considered protected land, which includes flora, fauna and water resources.
Land-locked Bolivia depends almost entirely on abundant natural resources and farming, producing oil and natural gas, zinc, tungsten, tin and other minerals.
The country's oil and natural gas resources were nationalized in 2006.
Source: AFP
GMT 14:48 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
The Romanian sheep nibbling away at US securityGMT 13:45 2018 Tuesday ,16 January
China races to prevent environmental disasterGMT 13:59 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Sea levels off Dutch coast highest ever recordedGMT 17:34 2018 Saturday ,13 January
Dozens still unaccounted for in California mudslidesGMT 12:35 2018 Friday ,12 January
Campaigners slam UK plans on cutting plastic wasteGMT 14:12 2018 Wednesday ,10 January
Alpine air at work? Delhi eyes novel ways to battle smogGMT 15:37 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
2017 the costliest year in US history for natural disastersGMT 15:30 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
Power stacked against SE Asia's poor as China dams MekongMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor