SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
Activists praise decision to reject energy ministry’s proposal to dam the world-famous waterfall Conservationists in Uganda have hailed a bipartisan decision to reject the government’s plan to construct a hydro-power dam at the country’s biggest tourist attraction. Lawmakers unanimously adopted a report by the 28 member parliamentary committee on environment on Thursday, rejecting the Ministry of Energy… Read More
Armed groups that have been roaming eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for decades are known for killing and raping civilians. But they are also responsible for environmental crimes of ever-growing proportions, particularly in the famous Virunga National Park. BY EPHREM RUGIRIRIZA AND CLAUDE SENGENYA, JUSTICEINFO.NET “An illegal charcoal cartel is helping to finance one of… Read More
Companies must take action to respect the rights of communities at risk in East Africa’s oil frontier In research released today alongside FIDH and partner organizations, Oxfam highlighted the major risks of oil projects led by French energy giant Total in Uganda and Tanzania, which would require over 12,000 families to lose land and endanger… Read More
More than 500 dams are planned or under construction within protected areas, according to a new study published in Conservation Letters. These findings raise red flags as dams can have detrimental impacts on livelihoods of local communities such as fishing and floodplain farming, species movements, sediment flows to downstream deltas and floodplains, and other critical… Read More
To Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné and all backers of the EACOP project: “As global citizens, we urgently call on you to cancel the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and stop drilling in national parks. Your plans threaten to destroy precious biodiversity hotspots and wildlife habitats – displacing tens of thousands of farmers. This project seriously… Read More
About Sombwe Dam In June 2019, PowerChina and the Congolese company Kipay Investments Sarl signed a joint venture for the construction of the 150 megawatt (MW) Sombwe hydropower plant in the DRC. The proposed USD 400 million Sombwe complex includes a dam, reservoir, and road works. The hydropower plant is located inside Upemba National Park, one of the… Read More
On 30 July, oil giant Total wrote off $8bn of its fossil fuel reserves, admitting they were stranded assets that would never be used due to weak oil demand and the impact these assets would have on the climate. By Mohamed Adow Founding Director of Power Shift Africa, a climate and energy think tank, based… Read More
This is what it is all about… Our fight is not just a fight about oil — it’s a fight about a different way of living by Nemonte Nenquimo The following piece is quoted directly from the keynote address of Ceibo Alliance co-founder Nemonte Nenquimo, who traveled from her home in the remote Ecuadorian Amazon to… Read More
The planet Earth in its present mode of florescence is being devastated. This devastation is being fostered and protected by legal, political and economic establishments that exalt the human community while offering no protection to the non-human modes of being. There is an urgent need for a Jurisprudence (system of governance) that recognizes that the… Read More
New armed attack, perpetrated in the morning of Wednesday 24 June 2020, against guards of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), inside the Virunga National Park. After the terrible killing of four civilians and 13 staff members of Virunga National Park on 24 April, this latest attack fills us with consternation and… Read More
Closed to tourists, pandemic is taking major toll on Virunga’s finances, local economy, as park reels from recent violence. SOPHIE NEIMAN June 2, 2020 Stretching some 3,000 square miles, Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the oldest and most biodiverse national park on the African continent. It was designated a… Read More
Despite the global plunge in oil prices, a major pipeline that would carry oil 900 miles across East Africa is moving ahead. International experts warn that the $20 billion project will displace thousands of small farmers and put key wildlife habitat and coastal waters at risk. BY FRED PEARCE • MAY 21, 2020 Imagine a tropical version of… Read More
