The mountain gorilla’s habitat in the tropical forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo might soon be at risk as the country plans to open more than half of its land to oil and gas drilling. Gorillas and other endangered wildlife, including eastern lowland gorillas and bononos, and 29 million people all depend on the tropical forests and rivers for their survival.
Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) government opened another round of auctioning for 52 oil blocks, which threatens 64 percent of the country’s pristine forest, according to a new report by Earth Insight: “Forests to Frontlines: Oil Expansion Threats in the DRC.”
“Imagine: 39 million Congolese people… and 64% of our forests could be directly affected by the awarding of these oil blocks,” Pascal Mirindi, Notre Terre Sans Pétrole’s campaign coordinator, said. “And all this while the government is promoting the Kivu-Kinshasa ecological corridor. Where is the logic? Where is the coherence? We are reminding our leaders that the Congolese people are the primary sovereign. We will not remain silent while certain people organise themselves to sell off our future.”
This latest round of auctions is an expansion of the controversial 2022 auction and contradicts the “country’s stated commitment to environmental protection and social progress,” Earth Insight said.
“Rather than steering away from fossil fuel expansion, the government has dramatically widened the reach of oil concessions, putting at risk the ecological integrity of the Congo Basin,” Earth Insight said. “More than half of the country (53 percent) is now covered by oil blocks, threatening vast areas of ecological importance, disrupting local livelihoods, and threatening lands of cultural and spiritual significance, undermining the country’s potential for sustainable development.”
Oil blocks include 21.3 million acres of Key Biodiversity Acres and 165.1 million acres of intact tropical forests, which overlaps with 20.5 million acres of protected areas. The Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor intersects with the oil blocks as does the majority of Cuvette Centrale—the largest tropical peatland complex in the world, but also a critical carbon sink.
“Towering rainforest canopies, winding river systems, and vast carbon-rich peatlands make the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) one of the most ecologically significant places on Earth. Home to the second-largest tropical rainforest on the planet, the DRC harbors an astonishing wealth of biodiversity including elephants, great apes, endemic birds, and thousands of plant species that thrive in its intact ecosystems,” Earth Insight said. “Its Cuvette Centrale peatlands store massive amounts of carbon, critical to fighting climate change. The landscapes that form this rich mosaic of life are also a lifeline for millions of people, supporting local livelihoods, cultural identity, and climate resilience.”
proposes that “[i]n line with the demands of Congolese Civil Society,” the DRC government and its international partners cancel the 2025 licensing round and stop all future hydrocarbon expansion.
Earth Insight is asking the DRC government and its partners to cancel the 2025 licensing round and stop all future hydrocarbon expansion. The organization “[i]n line with the demands of Congolese Civil Society” asks that international financing be aligned with the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples and the country’s commitments to biodiversity and climate.
“Oil and gas development in these fragile ecosystems would have devastating impacts on biodiversity, communities, land rights and the global fight against climate change,” Anna Bebbington, an Earth Insight research manager, said.
To join the fight to stop the DRC from sacrificing the Congo’s rainforests to the oil industry, sign the petition.
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