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The land grant raises doubts over the ‘Cop26’ ‘forest protection’ deal signed by the former British prime minister, as experts warn the auction will be disastrous for wildlife, health and the climate.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has said it is opening the auction of oil and gas exploration permits in the habitat of endangered gorillas, and in the world’s largest tropical swamp, from next week.
Yesterday, the country’s minister for hydrocarbons, Didier Budimbu, said that DR Congo is expanding exploration areas for oil and gas in the Virunga National Park, part of the Unesco world heritage of the last mountain gorillas left there.
The sales also include permits in the tropical Cuvette wetlands in the northwest of the country, which hold the equivalent of three years of global emissions from fossil fuels, according to The Guardian.
Congo River Basin it is considered the only tropical forest that absorbs more carbon than it emits and experts rightly describe it as the worst place in the world to search for oil and gas.
Environmental groups have urged the companies to reject the auction, especially after President Felix Tshisekedi has signed a $500m agreement to protect the country’s tropical forests. The Congo basin spans six countries and regulates rainfall from West Africa to faraway Egypt.
This week, Minister Budimbu said about the network Financial Times that actors Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio had intervened to stop oil exploration in Virunga, but this “will not stop the government”.
Sales are expected to start on July 28 and 29, despite the deal signed with Boris Johnson providing for a 10-year warranty on targets such as protection of forests and swamps in cooperation with the 12 donor countries. / The Guardian /
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