SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
Virunga National Park has for more than two decades been going through a period characterized by various threats due not only to the activism of armed groups but also to the pressure exerted by local communities on natural resources, a phenomenon resulting from manipulations on the part of certain political leaders. Faced with this last… 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
By Willy Mutunga, The writer is Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya and President of the Supreme Court Nelson Mandela belonged to that exceptionally rare and endangered breed of the African elite that broke vernacular barriers to build a Rainbow Nation. With considerable effort and remarkable foresight, he harnessed diversity into a common nationhood.… Read More
It’s not just the animals that are the victims of environmental degradation and devastation, but humans also… But not all is doom and gloom. Once up a time, we in the West had these animals where we lived. We blew it, wiped them out, but we still have a chance to protect and preserve the… Read More
When Save Virunga started more than 6 years ago our aim was simple: to give a voice to local communities who depend on the survival of Virunga National Park for their livelihoods and to protect Africa’s oldest National Park from oil extraction. We believed that Virunga should be a place where no oil extraction and pollution occurs, a… Read More
Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on the border of Uganda and Rwanda. Virunga is Africa’s oldest national park and is also the continent’s most biologically diverse protected area. The park’s 7800 square kilometers (3000 square miles) includes forests, savannas, lava plains, swamps, erosion valleys,… Read More
Unofficial translation of the excellent article of DRC blogger Jean-Baptiste Badesire: A reflection on oil exploration and exploitation in Virunga National Park, and how the Congolese authorities choose the easy money at the expense of the sustainable development and social peace in North Kivu. READ HERE THE (ORIGINAL) FRENCH VERSION This Friday, January 31, 2014… Read More
“A sustainable future for humankind depends on a caring partnership with nature as much as anything else.” Nelson Mandela World Parks Congress, 2003 . Protected areas … offering solutions Humanity faces two immense and interrelated problems; the global extinction of species and human-caused climate change. We are in the middle of a global extinction… Read More
Protected areas remain one of the cornerstones for promoting biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. Today protected areas cover 12.7% of the world’s terrestrial area and 1.6% of the global ocean area. They store 15% of the global terrestrial carbon stock, assist in reducing deforestation, habitat and species loss, and support the livelihoods of over… Read More
SAVE VIRUNGA 