Race to save Ecuador's 'lungs of the world'

The Yasuni National Park, known as

"the lungs of the world" and one of the most bio-diverse places on earth, is

under threat from oil drilling. The race is on to find the funds required to

develop new sustainable energy programmes that would leave the oil - and the

forest - untouched.

In the early light of dawn, the Napo River, running swiftly from its

headwaters in the high Andes, swirled powerfully past the bow of our motorised

canoe.

Suddenly, a dense cloud of green parrots swooped down from the canopy of the

jungle and in a cackling din started scooping tiny beakfuls from the exposed

muddy bank.

The heavy mineral rich clay, the birds seem to know, is an antidote to the

toxins present in the seeds of the forest which are a major part of their daily

diets.

As if on cue at 07:30 local time, as the first rays of