Oil Company Begins Tests In Virunga National Park, Chief Warden
Survives Shooting
Annamiticus - 1 hour ago
Date: 26 May 2014 By: Astrid Andersson
Tag: Africa, corruption, elephant poaching, endangered species,
LON:SIA, rhino poaching, SOCO

Virunga National Park is home to a significant portion of the world's
critically endangered mountain gorilla, and is under threat from oil
conglomerate Soco. Photo: Richard Paul Caird.
British petroleum conglomerate SOCO International PLC began seismic
tests in Lake Edward, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) on April 26. These tests – conducted under a permit
issued by the Congolese government – are exploring the possibility of
extracting oil concessions that cover a total of 85 percent of the
Unesco National Heritage site.
The ecologically diverse park is home to rhinos, elephants, hippos and
a quarter of the world's 800-or-so remaining mountain gorillas, and
oil extraction in the fragile ecosystem would lead to water source
contamination, air pollution and habitat loss.
On April 15, just before the tests began – which are in direct
violation of UN conventions on heritage site conservation – Virunga
Chief Warden Emmanuel de Merode was shot three times while driving a
park vehicle. He survived the attack and returned to duty at the park
May 24, and an investigation into the shooting is underway. De Merode
opposes oil extraction, and has publicly applauded the Virunga
Alliance , an integrated, eco-conscious development plan to allow the
impoverished populations around the park to benefit from its rich
natural resources. The program includes renewable energy stations,
ecotourism and sustainable fishery initiatives.
The WWF, meanwhile, has reported that two of its DRC employees have
received intimidating phone calls from unidentified sources saying,
among other things, that although they had missed killing de Merode,
they would be sure not to miss a WWF employee.
The organization also strongly disagrees with oil extraction in
Africa's oldest national park, and any activities or tests related to
this end.
"Virunga National Park is one of the last places on Earth you should
go looking for oil," said René Ngongo, mining and extractives policy
advisor at WWF DRC.
"The park is of global conservation importance and is vital for the
livelihoods of many people living around it. We are urging alternative
development models that are sustainable for the long term –
development that provides real benefits to local communities and does
not put endangered species at risk," she added.
Despite violence clearly associated with the extraction-related
activities, and a formal request from the UNESCO World Heritage
Committee for the cancelation of oil exploration permits in the park,
seismic tests continue. Reasons for this are linked to poor
governance, and state corruption.
"Virunga is threatened by environmental degradation security
challenges as a result of weak governance in this part of Eastern DRC…
[we] urge the Government of DR Congo to fully respect the
international conventions to which is it is a signatory," said
DRC-based UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office secretary, Mark Power, in
an official UK government statement earlier this month.
Moreover, a joint World Heritage Centre and International Union for
Conservation of Nature monitoring mission visited the area from March
5-14 and "was informed that elements of the military as well as armed
groups are involved in most of the illegal activities" and found that
at least 9 different armed groups remain active in and around the park
in the politically unstable nation, and may be behind the threats and
violence connected with the oil excavation plans.
The publicly traded SOCO (LON:SIA) is, however, accountable only to
its shareholders, and is technically operating under a legal permit
issued by the DRC. Unesco conventions for national heritage sites are
not legally binding, and only have the power to remove a site from the
list should it no longer comply with regulations (at the moment the
park's status is listed as "in danger"). It is therefore SOCO
investors and the Congolese government that hold the power to prevent
ecologically damaging extraction activities in Africa's oldest and
most biodiverse national park.
Virunga, which was founded in 1925, and its inhabitants already face
well-documented threats of deforestation and poaching. Since 2010, a
total of 10 park rangers have lost their lives protecting the
wildlife, and the park has seen a 4 percent encroachment by the
massive influx of political refugees to the surrounding areas, who
make settlements, farms and seek coal and other raw materials.
The Congolese Minister for Hydrocarbons has announced that if
economically viable oil reserves are found inside the property,
exploitation will go ahead. There's currently
a petition against this, which already has over 700,000 names on its
list. Sign to dissuade SOCO from its Virunga oil activities, and to
save the park from ruin.
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