3 August 2010: UN Development Programme (UNDP) Associate Administrator Rebeca Gryspan and Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño have signed an agreement establishing a trust fund to scale up the protection of the Yasuní National Park, part of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

With the agreement, an estimated 846 million barrels of crude oil lying under the reserve will be left unexplored, which will prevent the discharge of over 400 million metric tons of carbon from burning the fossil fuel. The initiative is expected to contribute to the fight against climate change. The trust fund aims to mobilize among several partners and donor countries at least 50% of the estimated US$7 billion that the oil revenues could potentially bring. UNDP will be entrusted to administer it through the specialized services of its Multi-Donor Trust Fund Office, which currently manages more than 30 funds in 74 countries. The Park was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1989. [UNDP Press Release]