SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
Over 260 organisations call on banks not to finance Total’s East African Crude Oil Pipeline With a final investment decision nearing, African and International organisations warn banks against joining $2.5 billion loan for a “manifestly irresponsible” project On the 1st of March 2021, 263 community and not-for-profit organisations from around the world urged the CEOs… Read More
Marginalised for decades, Pygmy peoples are fighting for recognition and land rights. Even the term ‘pygmy’ is laced with historical racism and prejudice; they are not treated as equal citizens in their home country. At the heart of pygmy culture is their forest, central to their spiritual beliefs, and ancestral heritage it is also their source… Read More
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
Bantu Lukambo and Josué Kambasu Mukura have risked their lives while working to protect Virunga National Park, which is exposed to many threats including extractive activities, poaching and armed conflict. Engaging with local communities, they strive to demonstrate the huge potential of the park as a sustainable way out of poverty. Virunga National Park, Democratic… Read More
Joint statement in support of moratorium on all oil activities in the wider Virunga area The undersigned call on UNESCO and the governments of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)i to reach an agreement to prevent any oil exploration, extraction or related activities in the wider Virunga area which is key to the… Read More
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
Open Letter to His Excellency Mr. Prime Minister and Head of Government, Democratic Republic of Congo . The civil society organizations working for the promotion and protection of the Environment and Human Rights in North Kivu (CREDDHO, FECOPEILE, IDPE, SOPR and CREF Network), in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are grateful for… Read More
“Oil: the fossil fuel responsible for the dispute over Virunga National Park in Congo” By Jakub Szweda Congolese people fight for their stability and food security after prospecting search for oil by a British company. SOCO International, in 2007, has signed a production-sharing contract for Block 5 Albertine Grahen, permitting them to enter over a half of… Read More
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
Virunga National Park is facing several threats despite the efforts from rangers and local conservationists to protect its resources. One of its resources are elephants which inhabit different ecosystems of the park from the forested areas to the savanna areas. Elephants in Virunga are also victims of the illegal ivory trade and many have been… Read More
Open letter the General Director of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) 15-11-2013 On the 27th of December 2013, SOCO was pleased to announce that “ICCN, the organisation that manages the Virunga National Park, has reported to SOCO that it has received widespread support for SOCO’s activities on Block V in eastern DRC.”1 The… Read More
CIVIL SOCIETY INSECURITY & THREATS TIME TO JOINT THE MOVEMENT AND PROTECT VIRUNGA DEFENDERS Since the beginning of SOCO’s exploration operations in Virunga National Park, Environmental and Human Rights defenders fighting for the survival of the park and the respect of community rights have been target of intimidations and threats. Across DRC and the Great… Read More
SAVE VIRUNGA 