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Dear President of Citigroup: I urge you to reconsider funding the construction of the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (OCP) in Ecuador. This will very likely cause irreversible loss and destruction of some of Ecuador's last remaining old growth rain forests and territories of isolated indigenous people. You will diminish the forest and the considerable income that tourism brings to Ecuador if you go forward with this project. As currently routed the pipeline will devastate 11 protected forest areas including the Mindo Nambillo Cloudforest Reserve which is home to over 450 species of birds. It would be possible to alter the path of the pipeline and the roads needed to build it into less sensitive areas. Whenever a new road is built colonists from impoverished regions of the country flood in along the road and cut forest to make farms. Please use your considerable influence as investor to require the route be altered to protect the Yasuni NationalPark. I understand that you are a primary financial backer of Perez-Companc who owns drilling rights to areas within Yasuni NP. There are many products that can be extracted from rainforests sustainably while preserving forest and allowing indigenous people to continue their lives and culture. Please reconsider the mistake of funding such short-term destructive projects in favor of helping developing nations find long-term projects that will save their lands and their people. You have the money, so you have the power. Please do something really good with it, rather than something that will hurt for a long time to come. Sincerely,
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