Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is considered by many scientists to be the single most biodiverse spot on the planet, but one in danger of being lost. Oil companies have found rich deposits beneath the park’s trees and rivers worth billions of dollars. Ecuador is a small country in which a third of the population lives below the poverty line and petroleum already makes up more than half of its export revenue. It badly needs the money that oil companies and consumers will be only too happy to provide if further drilling is allowed to go forward. If Ecuador follows the usual path of development, that’s exactly what will happen, with disastrous consequences for the park. However, there may be another way. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa told the international community that his country would be willing to cease drilling and leave Yasuni intact in exchange for donations equal to $3.6 billion over 13 years, or about half the expected market value of the park’s oil deposits. The Yasuni Plan, while conserving the park’s unique biodiversity, would be a first for global environmental policy, recognizing that the international community has a financial responsibility to help developing nations preserve nature.