The Biden government said it was considering a 20-year ban on new drilling in the Greater Chaco area.
US President Joe Biden is participating in a meeting Monday with local Indian tribal leaders to discuss a proposed ban on drilling for gas and oil in an area of the New Mexico desert considered sacred by the natives, said the White House.
In addition to the response to the coronavirus, security and economic assistance to indigenous areas, the central issue of the summit will be Biden’s intention to protect wilderness and historic areas from the action of energy companies, as opposed to policies in favor of the exploitation arranged by his predecessor, Republican magnate Donald Trump.
Before the meeting, the Biden government said it was considering a 20-year ban on new drilling in the Greater Chaco area, in New Mexico (southern United States).
The Chaco area has “great cultural, spiritual and historical significance for many indigenous peoples and tribes” and contains “thousands of objects from more than a thousand years ago,” alleged the White House.
It is also one of 24 sites in the United States included on the Unesco World Heritage List.
The drilling ban would only apply to federal licenses in an area of 16 kilometers around the Chaco Canyon. It will not affect existing operations or lands under private, state government, or tribal authority.
The proposed restrictions come as Biden faces political pressure from rising fuel prices amid inflation related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump was applauded by Republicans when he withdrew a series of federal protections in the country to facilitate gas and oil production.
However, Biden has reversed that trend. In October, he restored environmental protections for two Utah Indian areas linked to Aboriginal history and a biodiverse area of the Atlantic.
In addition, he became the first American president to issue a statement celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which coincides with the increasingly controversial holiday that celebrates the arrival of the explorer Christopher Columbus on October 8. (I)
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