Recently the Ecuadorians have made a historic decision by rejecting oil drilling by a referendum in which of the following biodiverse regions of Amazon ?

Correct — option (3), Yasuni National Park.

On 20 August 2023, alongside Ecuador's snap general election, voters answered a referendum on oil in Yasuni National Park, in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It asked whether the government should keep the crude of the ITT block, known as Block 43, underground indefinitely.

The Associated Press reported that, with over 90% of ballots counted, around six in 10 Ecuadorians rejected oil exploration in Block 43, situated within Yasuní. It said state oil company Petroecuador would be required to dismantle its operations there in the coming months.

AP described the vote as "a historic decision" and a blow to President Guillermo Lasso, who had advocated drilling.

The idea to remember: Ecuador's 2023 referendum said no to oil drilling in Block 43 of Yasuní National Park.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Manu National Park — Manu National Park is in southwestern Peru, where, as UNESCO describes it, the Tropical Andes meet the Amazon Basin. It was formalised as a national park by Supreme Decree in 1973.

  The August 2023 referendum was held in Ecuador and concerned Yasuní, not Manu.

• (2)
  Jau National Park — Jaú National Park is in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Created in 1980, it forms part of the Central Amazon Conservation Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site first inscribed, as Jaú National Park, in 2000.

  It is in Brazil, so it was not the subject of Ecuador's 2023 referendum.

• (4)
  Tumucumaque National Park — The Tumucumaque Mountains National Park lies in the Brazilian states of Amapá and Pará, bordering French Guiana and Suriname.

  Ecuador's referendum of 20 August 2023 concerned oil drilling in Yasuní National Park, in Ecuador.

Yasuní National Park lies in Amazonian Ecuador, between the Napo and Curaray rivers. AP describes it as covering over 1 million hectares, with 610 species of birds, 139 of amphibians and 121 of reptiles.

It was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1989. The Tagaeri and Taromenani peoples, who live in self-isolation, inhabit it.

The referendum question dealt with the ITT block (Ishpingo–Tiputini–Tambococha), numbered Block 43, where the state oil company Petroecuador had operations.

Key facts

• 20 August 2023: Ecuador held a referendum on oil exploitation in Yasuní National Park, alongside its snap general election.
• The question asked whether to keep the ITT crude, known as Block 43, underground indefinitely.
• AP: with over 90% of ballots counted, around six in 10 voters rejected oil exploration in Block 43.
• Yasuní was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1989 and is home to the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who live in self-isolation.
• Manu National Park is in Peru; Jaú and Tumucumaque Mountains national parks are in Brazil.

Common traps

• Reading "Amazon" as Brazil. The Amazon rainforest spreads across several countries, and Yasuní is in Ecuador.
• Reading the Yes vote as a vote for drilling. Yes meant keeping Block 43's oil underground indefinitely.
• Confusing the 2023 referendum with the 2007 Yasuní-ITT Initiative, which sought international compensation for leaving the oil unexploited.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2013 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In which country is Manu National Park, described by UNESCO as lying where the Tropical Andes meet the Amazon Basin?

  • (a)Brazil
  • (b)Ecuador
  • (c)Peru
  • (d)Bolivia
  Answer(3) — UNESCO places Manu National Park in southwestern Peru. Option (1) has Jaú and Tumucumaque national parks; option (2) has Yasuní; option (4) is not Manu's country.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  In Ecuador's referendum of 20 August 2023, a 'Yes' vote supported

  • (a)resuming new drilling in Block 43
  • (b)keeping the crude oil of Block 43 underground indefinitely
  • (c)privatising the state oil company Petroecuador
  • (d)postponing the general election
  Answer(2) — The question asked whether the government should keep the ITT crude, known as Block 43, underground indefinitely, and Yes won. Options (1), (3) and (4) were not on the ballot question.