Ecuador OKs Oil Drilling in National Park In Amazon

Published December 28, 2016

FILE - This May 17, 2007 file photo shows an aerial view of Yasuni National Park in Ecuador's northeastern jungle. Lawmakers on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013 authorized the extraction of oil from Yasuni National Park, a pristine Amazon reserve. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File) (AP2007)

Ecuadoran lawmakers Thursday approved the extraction of oil from Yasuni National Park, a pristine Amazon reserve.

After a 10-hour debate, a loyalist congress approved President Rafael Correa's plan by a 108-to-25 margin, with four legislators absent.

Correa in August announced that he was abandoning a unique plan to persuade rich countries to pay Ecuador not to drill in the Yasuni, saying wealthy nations had failed to pledge enough money.

Environmentalists had hailed the initiative when it was announced in 2007, saying Correa was setting a precedent in the fight against global warming by lowering the high cost to poor countries of preserving the environment.

Correa had sought $3.6 billion in contributions to maintain a moratorium on Yasuni drilling. But he said Ecuador managed to raise just $13 million.

It's unclear when drilling will begin.

Based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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