World pays Ecuador to save forest

John Vidal

January 2, 2012

AN ALLIANCE of European local authorities, governments, US film stars, Japanese shops, soft drink companies and Russian foundations have stepped in to prevent oil companies from extracting 900 million barrels of crude oil from one of the world's most biologically rich tracts of land.
The ''crowdfunding'' initiative had raised $US116 million, said the United Nations, enough to temporarily halt the exploitation of the 1870 square kilometres of ''core'' Amazonian rainforest known as Yasuni National Park in Ecuador.

The park, which is home to two tribes of uncontacted Indians, is thought to have more mammal, bird, amphibian and plant species than any other spot on Earth.

 

Development of the oilfield, which was planned to take place immediately if the money had not been raised, would have led to ecological devastation and the eventual release of more than 400 million tonnes of CO2.

Ecuador agreed to halt plans to drill the oilfield if, over a 13-year period, it could raise 50 per cent of the $US7.6 billion revenue being lost by not mining the oil.

While the world's leading conservation groups pledged nothing, regional governments in France and Belgium offered millions of dollars - with $US2 million alone from the Belgian region of Wallonia. A New York banker donated her annual salary and Bo Derek, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton and Al Gore all contributed.

The idea of asking people to pay for something not to take place was widely dismissed by national treasuries as holding the world to ransom.

The German Development Minister, Dirk Niebel, said the principle of paying for the oil not to be exploited ''would be setting a precedent with unforeseeable referrals''. However, Germany has now contributed $US48 million in ''technical assistance''.

The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was widely criticised after he wrote off $US51 million of Ecuador's $US10 billion external debt as Italy's contribution. Other pledges include Chile, Colombia, Georgia and Turkey ($US100,000 each), Peru ($US300,000), Australia ($US500,000) and Spain ($US1.4 million).

Supporters argued the scheme could be a model for change in the way the world pays to protect important places. The money raised is guaranteed to be used only for nature protection and renewable energy projects. Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and other states with oil reserves have investigated setting up such schemes as an alternative to traditional aid.

The biological richness of Yasuni has astonished scientists. One 600-hectare sector was found to have 47 species of amphibians and reptiles, 550 of birds, 200 of mammals and more species of bats and insects than anywhere in the Western hemisphere. Scientists said it would take 400 years to record the 100,000 or more insect and 2000 fish species.

Guardian News & Media

Five Strategies for Going Offshore‏

More than two decades ago, an interesting character with the nom de plume, “Bill Hill” wrote a popular escape manual for freedom advocates titled “PT—The Perpetual Traveler.”

Hill outlined his PT ideas with a five point plan “...for those,” he said, “with courage enough to pursue freedom.” He memorably illustrated his plan with something he called The Five Flags of Freedom.

Hill wrote: “People of intelligence and wealth owe it to themselves and their descendants to have more than one flag. No one with common sense should give all their assets or allegiance to just one.”

Confiscatory income taxes and suffocating government regulations have caused many independent-minded Americans and their European counterparts to seek new flags.

They are discovering that, as business owners, expatriates or tax exiles abroad, they need not belong to any particular country nor participate in its senseless policies and politics.

An individual’s relationship with government should be a matter of choice, an option. The passport you hold and the country where you live or were born need not determine your fate forever...

Why the Greatest Wealth Migration
in U.S. History Has Begun

Today, millions of the wealthiest and most productive Americans are leaving home to relocate various aspects of their lives in the best possible places.

They view governments as providers of facilities and services, like hotel keepers. If they offer good accommodation and make you feel comfortable and prosperous, you stay. If your government becomes too demanding or too nosey, or if a competitor offers a better deal, you can move on.

A few years ago, U.S. News & World Report confirmed, “A wave of native born citizens are going abroad in search of new challenges, opportunities, and more congenial ways of life.”

Some are seeking full-time residences... others find part-time tropical vacation homes where they can live like kings for $20,000 a year... while some move their businesses to slash their taxes.

No one government can or even should be trusted to control all your money. Experience shows us that government does not have your best interests at heart. Americans have learned with a vengeance how much politicians love to redistribute other’s wealth. In the end, they also will succeed in redistributing taxpayers. The major portion of all liquid private wealth, the smart money, already should have been moved offshore. As Bill Hill would say, it has been “re flagged.”

And these days, it’s not just the wealthy jumping ship. Every day, middle-class folks are re-flagging themselves to get the government they want and to gain access to economic opportunities that no longer exist in America.

Individuals can remove themselves from the control and jurisdiction of any government by acquiring dual citizenship, investing internationally and becoming human multinationals.

In order to accomplish this you have to arrange your assets according to the following simple outline:

Your Five Flags: A Strategy to Live as
Close to Government-Free as Possible

Flag 1: Second Passport and Citizenship: You should obtain citizenship and a second passport from a country that does not tax non-residents on their worldwide income. The U.S. taxes its citizens without regard to where they live in the world. Your second passport should be issued by a country that is unconcerned about its offshore citizens and their outside activities. It can act as the ultimate insurance policy during times of war, persecution and political upheaval.

Flag 2: Business Base: You need a place in which you can form a corporation or limited liability company and invest and earn money with minimal restrictions. This should not be where you legally reside, thus it excludes your personal fiscal domicile. Some countries grant free land, interest free loans or tax holidays to promote new local business and jobs with minimal regulation. Such places include the Cook Islands, St. Kitts & Nevis, Uruguay and Panama. I write about these jurisdictions often in Offshore Confidential, a monthly research series that offers offshore wealth protection solutions to every day Americans.

Flag 3: Residence and Domicile: Obviously, the best place to live is where you’re happy. But as a practical matter it also should be a place with a territorial tax system that does not tax outside income. You should live in a tax haven with good infrastructure and communication systems where wealthy, productive people can be creative, live, relax, prosper and enjoy themselves, preferably with maximum bank privacy and a stable government. Panama, Monaco, Andorra, Singapore, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland should be considered.

Flag 4: Asset Management: In spite of all the negative publicity, Switzerland remains the world’s best place from which assets, securities and business affairs can be managed by proxy. It is one of the best for an offshore bank account, life insurance and annuities. The Swiss have highly competent independent financial managers, and there is little or no taxation of non residents or non citizens. Other possibilities include Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Liechtenstein and Hong Kong.

Flag 5: Playgrounds: These are places where you physically spend time, where quality of life is a top priority. Normally, because of legal restrictions on how long one can stay without being considered a resident for tax purposes, it is necessary to have several such places, although, depending on the place, legal and political deals usually can be made if you want to stay in one place. But for tax purposes, one should avoid spending more than 90 days per year in any one country. Factors here are matters of personal choice: climate, seasons, geography, leisure activities, culture, history, security and prices.

Stay Away from “Home”
To Maximize the Benefits

One point to remember: governments only have power and jurisdiction over their citizens when they are within their home territory or colonies. For this reason, one generally should stay out of the country on whose passport one travels. Your major financial assets should be invisible and far away from the country in which you actually make your home. And keep your lifestyle as unremarkable and humble as possible, never flamboyant and attention-getting.

By using the Five Flag strategy, you too can get the most out of life. Once you have your new second passport and money enough to survive comfortably at your chosen destination, security is yours.

Faithfully yours,

Bob Bauman, JD
Chairman, Freedom Alliance

Ecuador's Coastal Gem‏

Ecuador's Coastal Gem
By Dan Prescher

When my wife, Suzan Haskins, and I visited the Ecuador coast recently, one of the nicest surprises was Bahia de Caraquez.

It’s hard not to describe this little city of 20,000 people as a gem.

For one thing, it sits on a sandy peninsula jutting out into the Pacific like a gemstone pendant at the end a necklace… but in this case the necklace is the Chone River, which winds down from the Manabi highlands and flows into the ocean in a wide estuary next to the town itself.

For another thing, the city looks like it has been worked in polished stone due to the many condo towers stretched along and in back of the beautiful seafront malacon (boardwalk). Once a wealthy trade and shipping port with rail connections to the rest of the country, Bahia has evolved ov er the years into a favorite coastal vacation and getaway spot for many Ecuadorians.

It’s not hard to see why. The estuary where the Chone River meets the ocean is a spectacular expanse of water and majestic headlands. Bahia has taken advantage of both natural blessings… restaurants, parks, and shops line the banks of the Chone on the north side of town where pleasure boats and commercial crafts ply the river and crowd the docks. And on the west and south sides of town, the Pacific ocean stretches out from the waterfront walk into the vast distance. The best condos in Bahia sport both these stunning river and ocean views.

The town center is a hive of activity during the day, but thanks to its small population and seasonal popularity, vehicle traffic is so light as to be almost non-existent outside the town commercial center. This makes strolling the river walk and the oceanfront malacon a quiet and relaxing pleasure at almost anytime of the day or night.

We spent a lovely evening at a riverfront restaurant enjoying local ceviches and cold beers and got the feeling that during the traditional Ecuadorian family holidays of Christmas/New Year and Holy Week, the place would be packed with people from Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca enjoying the mild weather and beautiful setting. But outside those holidays, we were pretty confident that there would be no crowds to fight at any restaurant or bar you wanted to try in town during the rest of the year.

And Bahia has recently had another gem added to its setting… a new bridge across the Chone now eliminates the time-consuming ferry ride that used to be the only way to get across the river to San Vincente and the stunning beaches to the north. Bahia is now more than ever a natural base from which to explore newly accessible beaches from the surf mecca of Canoa all the way up to Pedernales and another great surf destination, Mompiche in southern Esmeraldas province.

In between are long stretches of incredible Pacific Coast beachfront that has, until now, been known only to the fishermen and farmers who live here, surfers who venture out for the perfect waves, and the most adventurous Ecuadorian and foreign travelers. The bridge at Bahia has changed all that, and it will change Bahia as well, making it a readily accessible town for services and shopping for those who will inevitably explore and settle along those northern beaches.