Papal visit brings environmental focus to Andes

AGUARAGUE NATIONAL PARK, Bolivia (AP) - In the vine-entangled forests of the Aguarague National Park, crude that seeped for decades out of abandoned wellheads saturates the soil and has stained the bedrock of creeks that provide water to the indigenous Guarani who live nearby.

The petroleum stench is overpowering as David Benitez, who lives in the park and grazes his cattle among the wells, sifts tainted soil between his fingers.

"The odor is much stronger in the summer, when there's no water to wash the oil downstream," said the farmer, 47.

Pope Francis is expected to raise concerns about the environmental costs of development next week when he meets with Bolivian President Evo Morales and his counterpart in Ecuador, Rafael Correa, on the first two stops of a three-country tour. Francis' weeklong trip follows his landmark encyclical demanding dramatic measures to halt climate change and ensure future generations aren't living in "debris, desolation and filth."

The Guarani for years have fought to protect their native lands in and around this narrow 70-mile-long park in the southeastern Chaco region that flanks Bolivia's richest natural gas fields. Francis has called on governments to better engage such indigenous peoples, calling them nature's best caretakers because the land, for them, is sacred.

Respecting native peoples, working to alleviate the poverty and living less wasteful lives are part of Francis' calls to action. But his critics say such prescriptions are unrealistic for developing economies like those of Ecuador and Bolivia that rely on mining and oil and gas extraction.

Morales, an environmental hero to many for demanding rich nations do more to halt global warming, is assailed by conservationists at home who say he puts extraction ahead of clean water and forests.