SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
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
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
Protection of the environment by criminal law It is true that the criminal response comes when the crime has been committed, that it does not repair damage or prevent repetition, and that it rarely has dissuasive effects. It is also true that, because of its structural selectivity, the sanctioning function usually affects the most vulnerable… Read More
Fishers Unite! All Pictures from Enanga.org It is abnormal for a fisher or fishing community to depend on imported fish for protein. It is an unhappy situation when an experienced fisherman returns from a fishing trip with only flotsam or other debris, including plastics, in the nets. Unfortunately, this is the reality facing fishers in… Read More
DRC Civil Society united to protect Virunga and Salonga National park. These two UNESCO World Heritage Natural Sites represent an outstanding universal value and any project of partial disaffection could be considered as an inhuman act intentionally causing great suffering to the thousands of local communities and indigenous peoples who depend on these exceptional values… Read More
This week was marked by the announcement by Global Witness that “the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government is attempting to reclassify swathes of two UNESCO-protected World Heritage Sites –Salonga and Virunga National Parks – to allow oil exploration to take place”. At the same time the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, was concluding… Read More
Every day we hear that the integrity of a protected area is being challenged by the expansion of industrial activities such as oil, gas and mining exploration. Last year it was the turn of Manu National Park in Peru’s Amazon one of the most biodiverse places on Earth and home of several indigenous peoples – as… Read More
Every day we hear that the integrity of a protected area is being challenged by the expansion of industrial activities such as oil, gas and mining exploration. Last week it was the turn of Manu National Park in Peru’s Amazon one of the most biodiverse places on Earth and home of several indigenous peoples –… Read More
SOCO is uncertain of what the Virunga National Park landscape looked like when it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1979. However, we are aware of what the area looks like today, scarred by decades of deforestation, poaching and violence against its inhabitants. Despite the efforts and financial investments of some organizations in the… Read More
Excerpt and Unofficial Translation of Greenpeace’s Blogpost: “Virunga : la soif de pétrole ne laisse aucun répit à la nature” With the European premiere of ” Virunga ” during the Docville movie Festival in Belgium, Virunga National Park is again under the spotlight . The finding is more than bitter: from Virunga to the North… Read More
. “In the oil industry, the value of an oil and gas company is mainly determined by its reserves. This means that SOCO’s primary assets “are its entitlements to future production from reserves, and one of the distinct features of the industry is its depleting asset base and need for replacement through drilling and acquisition.(2)”… 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
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