The Bolivian government ratified a new law permitting oil and gas exploration and extraction in protected areas. The government claims the law will bring needed economic development to the areas, and that requirements to use the latest technology and protect "fragile ecosystems" will prevent environmental harm. Environmental organizations have criticized the law, saying it undermines the park service's ability to review environmental impact assessments and will allow oil companies to demand that park boundaries be reconfigured if commercially recoverable resources are discovered. Eleven of Bolivia's twenty-two protected areas overlap with oil and gas concessions. For the full story, see http://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2015/jun/05/bolivia-national-parks-oil-gas.