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ECUADOR - The Achuar people are seeking international support in their fight against the U.S.-based ARCO oil company. ARCO has bought oil exploration rights for nearly 2.5 million acres of rainforest from Ecuador's government, including a large section of Achuar territory.

The tribe has proposed an alternative that would allow the land to be purchased by ARCO to be set aside in perpetuity as a biological reserve. This plan would create a development mechanism, as described by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, to absorb excess carbon released from the burning of fossil fuels. The Kyoto Protocol, if ratified, would require developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent. One of the ways to do this is through flexible reduction methods like the carbon offset process.

The Achuar nation, of about 4,300 people, hold communal title to nearly 2 million acres of old-growth rain forest. They maintain that any group affected by proposed development should have a voice in how traditional land is used.

The Achuar have joined a number of indigenous nations like the Machiguenga of Peru and the U'wa of Colombia, to prevent oil development on their territories.

"The Achuar are doing everything they can to open these doors peacefully," said Shannon Wright, the Amazon Oil Campaign director at the Rainforest Action Network in California.

The Achuar proposal is similar to an arrangement in place in Costa Rica, where territory, though not under indigenous ownership, has been conserved for carbon dioxide reduction.

Wright said the Achuar are trying to meet with the Ecuadorian government on the carbon offset proposal. The Achuar have environmental consultants working with them on the project to ensure its feasibility.

"The Ecuadorian government could actually make money by keeping this territory because of its ability to absorb carbon," Wright said.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, if ratified, countries like the United States could purchase the rights to lands in rainforest areas in exchange for conserving them. This would earn them credits toward their greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

ARCO officials say they are committed to dialog with the Achuar, but the Achuar remain opposed to oil extraction no matter what, Wright said.