SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
A few weeks away from the presidential elections, the electoral campaign promises have already started taking its toll on Virunga National Park. Since the beginning of the launch of the campaign, environmental activists have been warning political actors to avoid campaign messages that may incite people to the destruction of Virunga National Park (1). Unfortunately,… Read More
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
“The benefit of the park [for us communities] is to protect the Lake – so we have security. This means that we keep it as a long term benefit project. In order to meet our future needs.” You can watch here the full video message from Virunga’s fisher communities:
03-02-2014 Civil Society of Vitshumbi recalls the importance of Lake Edward in the lives of more than 1.000.000 persons that depend on its resources. They also urge the government to take into consideration the green potential of the park. They give follow-up to the 1st Vitshumbi Declaration of 2012 and DRC Government among other things… Read More
24-03-2012 In March 2012, the fishery communities of Lake Edward expressed their opposition to any oil exploration or exploitation in Virunga National Park. They are well aware of the consequences of natural resource exploitation. They are at the basis of the fragile government and current conflicts in the eastern DRC. Communities ask the DRC Government… Read More
SOCO’s Statement in Response to Virunga Communities’ fears . All of these testimonies were filmed in and around Virunga National Park and are meant to give the people of North Kivu a voice about their social, environmental and human rights concerns. . . All of these local stories are dealing with oil exploration in Virunga… Read More
Lake Edward “provided important fisheries in the past, with harvests composed primarily of tilapia, catfishes (Bagrus spp. and Clarias spp.), and lungfish.” During the late 1950s and 1960s, a few small industrial processing operations were established in the vicinity of Lake Edward and George, and supplied Kampala and other urban markets in East Africa with… Read More
On 23 & 24 March a reflection meeting took place on the issue of oil exploration and exploitation in Block 5 in the Albertin Rift by SOCO. The workshop took place in Vitshumbi, Ruthsuru, North Kivu. The workshop was attended by local communities who live in and outside Virunga National Park, in the area of… Read More
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