SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
Are you ready to the join “la lucha” for Virunga’s Survival and the Rights of the Communities?
Since the publication of Pope Francis’ ” Laudato Si’ ” many have given their views on the Pope’s Encyclical letter on the care of the ‘common house’. Some call it the most “astonishing and perhaps the most ambitious papal document of the past 100 years, since it is addressed not just to Catholics, or Christians, but to… Read More
Oil exploitation in Virunga’s block V is similar to the final of an important soccer game between the government with its petroleum allies, and the local communities that depend on inexhaustible natural resources and their supporters, civil society organizations working on the protection of the environment. Both teams have been trained to use the legal instruments that are at… Read More
MSF-Photo: Colin Delfosse – A resident of Rubaya camp in Masisi, North Kivu, looks out over the makeshift tents. When investing in Oil be aware that you are also contributing: 1. To finance massacres, conflicts and inter-ethnic wars, low intensity warfare originated in the oil exploitation; 2. To expel populations from oil areas (from families… Read More
A must read article about what it entails to create a transformative and sustainable prosperity in Africa, and to keep places like Virunga forever. African governments need to switch from a predominant extractive economic model to a people and human knowledge orientated development pathway. Digging for oil and minerals not only shatters pristine environments and… Read More
“Our earth needs constant concern and attention. Each of us has a personal responsibility to care for creation, this precious gift which God has entrusted to us. This means, on the one hand, that nature is at our disposal, to enjoy and use properly. Yet it also means that we are not its masters. Stewards,… Read More
The actor turned environmentalist adds of ‘Virunga’: “You have grassroots people on the ground risking their lives for these last remaining places that are so vital” Leonardo DiCaprio has been an avid environmentalist for over 15 years, and started his own foundation in 1998 to preserve endangered species and their habitats, among other goals. This… Read More
In “Women Empowerment, Fisheries and Sustainable Development in Virunga” we have seen how important Lake Edward is for the empowerment and emancipation of women in the Great Lakes region. In this article based on the excerpt of the UN report on Women and Natural Resources: Unlocking the PeaceBuilding Potential we focus on the relationship between women and natural resources in… Read More
Four ACCA member organizations from the Great Lakes Region have joined in an open letter calling on President Obama to act to protect Virunga National Park: Centre de Recherche sur l’Environnement, la Démocratie et les Droits de l’Homme (CREDDHO); Réseau pour la Conservation et la Réhabilitation des Ecosystèmes Forestiers (Réseau CREF); Actions pour les Droits, l’Environnement et la… Read More
On July 11th of this year North-Kivu Civil Society Groups wrote a Memorandum to the Director-General of the UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova, reiterating their views against oil exploration in Virunga National park and expressing their deep concerns in front of the possible redrawing of the park boundaries in order to accommodate oil exploration and exploitation… Read More
Following the agreement made between SOCO International and WWF on June 10th to cease all operations of oil exploration in Virunga National Park, on the 21st of June a ceremony was held in Nyakakoma marking the closing of the seismic operations conducted by the oil company in North Kivu. Different personalities were present during this… Read More
IN 2013 North Kivu Civil Society response to Mbayma’s Threats 12-03-2014 North Kivu Civil Society official response to the letter of Guy Mbayama, urging DRC and ICCN’s authorities to remember that Civil society actors in North Kivu have the primary duty to defend and promote, at all times and everywhere, the rights of citizens in… Read More
IN 2013 When local communities say NO, SOCO increases the Pressure 08-03-2014 Press Release of Civil society on SOCO’s oil exploration and exploitation in the Virunga National Park. When local communities say NO, SOCO International seeks the reinforce the credibility of the project by the dividing and manipulating the actors. Environmental non-governmental organizations of the… Read More
