By Johann Earle
In Jeju, South Korea
WWF France has sponsored a motion at the World Conservation Congress 2012 in Jeju, South Korea calling for a moratorium on oil drilling off the coast of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana citing the potential for disaster and for them to strengthen energy conservation policy and support for renewable energy resources.
The motion referred to the ecological fragility and the socioeconomic importance of the coastline of the Guianas and said that this coastline is the place with the highest concentration of migrating and wintering waders in northern South America, and that their beaches are a site of international importance for the laying of sea turtle eggs.
It said that the Guiana Shield is an area frequently visited by delphinids such as the common bottlenose dolphin and by certain cartilaginous fish such as the manta ray.
It said too that the regional cooperation project for the conservation of sea mammals (MAMA COCO SEA) should result in the creation of sanctuaries extending from the coasts of Brazil to Venezuela.
It stressed that the local population on the coasts of French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana depend directly on fishery resources and referred to the illustration of the risks of deep-water oil extraction by referring to the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Considering the uncontrollable impact that accidents like this could have on the natural environment, marine resources and the populations of French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana; and recalling that the exploitation and use of oil releases high concentrations of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing greatly to global greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on our climate; The World Conservation Congress, at its session in Jeju, Republic of Korea, 6–15 September 2012: calls on the governments of France, Suriname and Guyana to: a. Adopt a moratorium on deep-water oil extraction in the three countries in the Guiana Shield; b. Strengthen the energy conservation policy and support for renewable energy sources, compatible with biodiversity conservation, in order to support the ecological transition of these territories; c. Establish an international, cross-border marine protected area on the Guiana Shield, linked to the project for a marine mammal sanctuary stretching from the coasts of Brazil to Venezuela; and d. Strengthen the sustainable management of the fishery resources in order to protect marine biodiversity as well as the needs and economic activities of the local populations on the Guiana Shield,” the motion said.
The co-sponsors of the motion are Humanité & Biodiversité, France Nature Environnement, Association Kwata, Fondation Nature & Découvertes, Fondation pour la nature et l’homme, Réserves Naturelles de France, Noé Conservation, Centre international de Droit Comparé de l’Environnement, Fédération Française des Sociétés de Sciences Naturelles, Syndicat National des Directeurs de Parcs Zoologiques, Société Réunionnaise pour l’Etude et la Protection de l’Environnement Ile de la Réunion, Fédération des Conservatoires d’Espaces Naturels, Association Française des Ingénieurs Ecologues, Pro-natura International, Office pour les insectes et leur environnement, Fondation Internationale pour la Sauvegarde de la Faune.
In June this year, the French government put on hold plans by Royal Dutch Shell to drill for oil in four sites off the coast of French Guiana while it carried out a review of how permits are awarded with an eye on the environment. Oil explorer Tullow made a major oil find off of French Guiana in 2011. Since then there has been deepening interest in the area offshore the Guianas.
The Guyana/Suriname Basin is now ranked second in the world for oil and gas prospectivity by the United States Geological Service.
Two wells drilled offshore of Guyana this year by CGX and other companies came up dry. There are plans to revisit one of the locations and for drilling at other sites offshore.
