On the far eastern tip of Ecuador, stretching deep into the Amazon, some 10,000 square miles of rainforest lie at the heart of a global struggle. The area, known as the Yasuní National Park, is one of the most biodiverse territories on Earth, with more than 120 documented species of reptile, 596 bird species, and 382 fish species. In one hectare of the Yasuní, there are more than 100,000 species of insects, similar to the amount found in all of North America.
But on August 20, 2023, after a decade of struggle, Ecuadorian voters decided in a referendum to indefinitely keep all the remaining oil in the ground under the nearly 1 million hectares of Yasuní National Park. Nearly 60% of voters nationwide chose to value one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet over the price of some estimated 726 million barrels of oil lying deep beneath the forest floor.