Oiling the Wheels of Conservation?

An interesting debate is developing about what to do about enormous oil reserves located under a biodiversity hot spot, Yasuni National Park in Equador (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/03/ecuador-yasuni-conservation?INTCMP=SRCH). The Equadorian Government have offered not to extract the oil (and risk the enormous range of plant and animal species or to add to greenhouse gas generation) if the developed nations give them 50% of the value of the resource (it's a bit like paying not to destroy the rainforest). The timing, given the world economic climate, is not great for this offer and relatively little money has been offered. Some of the Governments expected to donate have expressed concerns that the money might be accepted and then the oil extracted anyway (the Equadorians reserve the right to exploit the resource in a 'national emergency'). Meanwhile oil companies are building roads on the margins of the park. People have commented that the losses of yet largely undocumented species, with all sorts of potential utilities, could be enormous. Cynically speaking, even if this oil is left in the ground, commercial agencies are likely to seek fuels in other locations and ways, so getting real reductions in greenhouse gas release seems unlikely.