This has already happened in many parts of the Amazon, and the consequences aren't pretty, as my piece here illustrates. In this case however Yasuni has been offered something of a caveat - if enough "compensation" is raised to pay the government off, the money lost by not plumbing the oil reserves, they will keep their hands off the booty.

The book is one of a series of moves to raise international awareness of the issue and persuade people like the British government to commit to providing some of the finance for the plan (read the Early Day Motion from when the Mayor of Yasuni visited the UK recently).

The idea of the international community paying to protect the environment has been road-tested in various ways and is a tricky business, both ethically and in practical terms. There was a lot of fuss about various deals touted last year to put the Iwokrama forest in Guyana under international protection of some sort, and there were particular worries the small country would be surrendering its sovereignty in some way.

In the end a deal was bashed out with a private equity firm, Canopy Capital. I'm not 100 per cent sure about the long term ethics of this sort of deal, but I haven't seen any better or more effective options for keeping the loggers and the oilmen out.

But time is running out - the Ecuadorian government have told the people of Yasuni they have only until December to come up with a plan of action, and are asking for $350 million annually for the next ten years not to start the drilling.

Quick - buy the book here - to discover the amazing species we need to protect like green iguanas and red titi monkeys.

The cuddlier creatures are often featured with young children who keep them as pets, proving that man and nature can live in harmony.

(All photographs are taken from the book)