Quito Desk – El Comercio

The first official reactions regarding the controversial delivery of the environmental license of Petrobras have begun.Yesterday, Ana Alban, minister of the Environment, announced, in a concise press bulletin, that she would audit the environmental permit authorizing the oil companies in Block 31, which is in the territory of Yasuni National Park. According to the communication, Alban solicited the General Controller of the State who audited the action for the Minister during the previous government, with regard to the granting of the environmental license to Petrobras. Additionally, she will revise the use of the resources provided by the Brazilian oil company for the execution of the program for monitoring security and social conditions of the construction phase of the development and production plan for Block 31. Alban also asked that the Minister of General Finance investigate if penal infractions exist.

According to the document, Ana Alban arranged that an inventory should take place of the goods acquired by the previous administrations of the Ministry of the Environment from the resources given by Petrobras “at the end of which these goods will be used exclusively for the ends and conditions established in the environmental license.” This newspaper intended to speak with Alban to know what will be the fate of the Toyota Truck that she uses and that was bought with money from Petrobras, but her office said she was in a meeting.

While this situation is being clarified, the pressure on the Ministry is mounting. Yesterday, it initiated a new campaign to request an ample discussion of the authorization of Petrobras. An Ecuadorian biologist, Fernando Ponce, suggests that before permitting another exploitation of the zone, there should be a debate on the national scale about the possible problems and the ways of avoiding them. “I consider it necessary that all of the relevant documentation of the petroleum exploitation, especially the link between Block 31 and the Maxus road, should be put in a public forum via the internet,” maintained Ponce.