Fishermen Launch Petition Against Oil Exploitation at Lake Edward in Virunga National Park

On the occasion of the sixth edition of the AMANI festival, the federation of the individual fishermen committees of Lake Edward – FECOPEILE in acronym-, launched a petition against the exploitation of oil and other threats in Lake Edward and Virunga National Park (ViNP) but also against insecurity and kidnappings in the areas surrounding the park.… Read More

How to Change the World? Stop Fossil Fuels, Fight for Justice, Save Virunga.

Stop Fossil Fuels, Fight for Justice, Save Virunga, Yasuni and all these other Places and Peoples You and I must take daily actions that make large-scale changes possible. Sometimes you meet someone, see a place for the first time, read a book, or watch a movie and you are reminded in one glimpse, one sentence,… Read More

How to Change the World? Stop Fossil Fuels, Fight for Justice, Save Virunga!

As Donald Trump enters the White House, it is time to join the global movement of resistance. Find your trigger, your strength to change the world: You and I must take daily actions that make large-scale changes possible. Have courage. Challenging the status quo can attract ridicule. We need the quiet courage of decent people doing… Read More

Virunga National Park shares a Spotlight: The Fishing Village of Vitshumbi

There is an inextricable link between the fisheries of Lake Edward, the well-being of the local population, and Virunga National Park itself. The Virunga Alliance is doing it’s best to serve all parties in this tightly-knit web of life on Lake Edward. On the road from park HQ in Rumangabo to Vitshumbi… By Evelyne Malfliet… Read More

Virunga Lake Edward’s Blue Potential: a Real Alternative to Oil

A Real Alternative to Oil: Lake Edward’s sustainable Fisheries Lake Edward is one of the many lakes in Central Africa’s Rift valley. Its waters spread across the neighboring countries in the region. The Lake is fully enclosed in Virunga National Park (Virunga), which is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and in Queen… Read More

How to Change the World?

Stop Fossil Fuels, Fight for Justice, Save Virunga, Yasuni and all these other Places and Peoples You and I must take daily actions that make large-scale changes possible. Sometimes you meet someone, see a place for the first time, read a book, or watch a movie and you are reminded in one glimpse, one sentence,… Read More

Oil Exploration in Virunga: a Fisherman’s tale, in which team are you?

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

What Congolese are doing for Virunga

What Africans are doing for Africa, what Congolese are doing for Virunga is a story that too often is forgotten behind the headlines and stories conveyed in the West, behind our own stereotypes and fears to lose control over the African continent. To think that our voice and story is more meaningful and trustworthy than… Read More

Fighting for Virunga is about Preventing Future Violence

Must read post by DigitalDjeli. In-depth analysis on how the battle for oil in Virunga National Park is not just about conservation but also about preventing conflict in the Great Lakes region. The World Wildlife Fund recently announced a victory in the fight to prevent British oil company Soco from drilling in Congo’s Virunga National Park after an… Read More

1.000 Reasons Save Virunga: #34 Lake Edward’s Fishermen

“Protecting the jobs of the fishermen is extremely important. Fishermen are the bread earners of their fishing villages, of their communities. Poor people are more dependent than the rest of us on Natural resources. A development process that protects the environment is also a development process that takes them into account. That lifts them above… Read More

Protecting Virunga Lake Edward’s Blue Potential: a Real Alternative to Oil

The Africa Progress Panel (APP) consists of ten distinguished individuals who advocate for equitable and sustainable development for Africa. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel laureate, chairs the Panel and is closely involved in its day-to-day work. This article is an excerpt of the last African Progress Panel’s report, Grain Fish… Read More

DEC 2013: We, Local Chiefs urge SOCO’s Activities to be Stopped in Virunga National Park!

We, people of Congo, urge SOCO’s Activities to be Stopped in Virunga ! We, local chiefs, representatives of fishermen, ship-owners, women’s groups, students, representatives of small and medium enterprises, environmental civil society and human rights defenders and local leaders urge DRC government: To call upon the oil company SOCO to stop using security services and… Read More