SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
AGM scandal for British company at centre of Leonardo DiCaprio-backed Oscar-nominated film. Cheques and receipts revealed by Global Witness show oil company Soco International paid over $40,000 in just two weeks to Congolese military officer accused of bribery and violence. Officer and his soldiers implicated in bribing, intimidating and even killing Soco opponents. Company dogged… Read More
On the 12th of March 2015, oil company SOCO International Plc published its preliminary results for the year ending on the 31st December 2014. Virunga regained some momentum after the Oscars, the risk to redraw Virunga’s national park perimeter to accommodate oil exploration made the headlines, WWF seemed to be “reconsidering its victory” [1] and… Read More
‘Drillers in the mist’: How secret payments and a climate of violence helped UK firm open African national park to oil British oil company Soco Internationaland its contractors havemade illicit payments, appear to have paid off armed rebels and benefited from fear and violence fostered by government security forces in eastern Congo, as they sought… Read More
On the 28th of August, oil company SOCO International Plc published its interim results for the half-year to 30th of June 2014. From this report it is clear that the focus of the company has been to continue delivering steady progress and growth, keeping revenue and cash flow strong and shareholders happy with a possible 22… Read More
Q) When are conservationists and asset managers ever on the same side? A) More often than you’d think For some, the announcement on 11 June 2014 that SOCO International, a UK-listed oil and gas company, would not drill in the Virunga National Park – a designated world heritage site in the Democratic Republic of Congo… 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
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
“During 2013, SOCO committed over US $0.9 million towards social projects for local communities around Lake Edward…. including: the rehabilitation of a dilapidated road between Nyakakoma and Ishasha, the installation of a communications mast at Nyakakoma, the provision of medical aid programmes (including a mobile hospital and a disease mapping campaign to combat neglected tropical diseases)…” Source:… Read More
Insightful and excellent article of DRC blogger Chantal Faida Mulenga – Byuma. Her blog can be consulted at http://chantalfaida.blogspot.fr. Chantal reflects on the green potential of Virunga, the promises made, the position of local communities as well as of DRC government, and what will be the future of the park. Unofficial translation. — Established in… 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
European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, together with the Belgian Minister for International Cooperation, Jean-Pascal Labille, urge SOCO’s shareholders and all relevant authorities to make sure that oil company SOCO International Plc respects international laws and regulations and is in compliance with all of the required standards considering its oil exploration activities in a World… Read More
Instead of the hoped tourists, now the oil industry is moving in and stating that their positive effects would easily balance minor environmental damages… Unofficial translation of the German article Die Zeit “Der große Ausverkauf des Virunga-Nationalparks” By Jonas Schaible Although the Democratic Republic of Congo through the last two decades has had to mourn… Read More
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