Gorilla habitats and pristine forest at risk as DRC opens half of country to oil and gas drilling bids | Oil

The Congo Democratic Republic (DRC) opens more than half of the country’s carving plans to fossil fuel blocks and important gorilla habitats and intact forests for oil and gas drilling offers.

The blocks opened for the auction include 124m hectares (306m acres), defined by experts as “the worst place in the world çalış, because they hold a large amount of carbon and inner waters because they host the most valuable wild life habitats of the planet, including the endangered plain gorillas and Bonobo.

This year, the government launched an license round for 52 oil blocks; These are in addition to the three previously given blocks. 64% of the total area, Spatial mapping and analysis In a new report by Earth Insight. Experts contradict this expansion of oil and gas development, Biological diversity of DRC and protecting climate protection.

In July 2022, the DRC government launched tenders for 30 oil and gas blocks, but this It was then canceledBy referring to late applications and lack of competition. “The worst place for the world’s oil expectation is ready to auction again,” he said, Prof Simon Lewis of London University College, who first led the team of Congo Peatlands. “No reliable company will not offer oil in the forests and peat areas of DRC, because there is probably enough oil to be commercially applicable and will be expensive oil in financial, social and environmental costs.”

Earlier this year, the government announced its flagship Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor The protection attempt, however, now 72% of this area coincides with the planned oil blocks, according to the report, DRC -based group is written in cooperation with Notre Terre Sans Pétrole [Our Land Without Oil]- SockAnd Rain Forest Foundation England.

The Listen Central, the world’s largest tropical peat complex, is included in the newly designated oil blocks. This large swamp area is the size of Nepal and is home to the house of rare wildlife, including forest elephants, plain gorillas, chimpanzees and endemic birds. Stores approximately 30 billion metric tons of carbon peat.

In recent years, there have been various international efforts to provide financing to protect DRC forests.

The most important money slice was $ 500 million (417.6 million £) forest protection agreement In COP26, it was signed for the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). . 10 -year agreement – It dates from 2021 to 2031 – It aimed to stop the disintegration and to encourage the renewal of 8M hectares of degraded land and forests.

So far, only 150 million dollars have been transferred to DRC, now about 400 million dollars to be delivered according to the conditions of the agreement. Discussions on how to increase the rate of money released continues. A source said that the lack of international financing in order to make forests more profitable increases the possibility of searching for oil and gas agreements such as DRC. They described this as a “collective failure ..

In addition to protection effects, many indigenous people and 39 million people live in the region, including forest -based communities that depend on rivers to survive and rivers to survive.

“Imagine: 39 million Congo people… And 64% of our forests may be directly affected by the giving of these oil blocks, P said Pascal Mirindi, the Campaign Coordinator of the Campaign Coordinator of the Notre Terre Sans Pétrole. “And all this is the government’s kivu-kinshasa ecological corridor. Where is logic? Where is logic? Consistency, we remind our leaders that the people of Congo are the primary dominant. Some people will not remain silent while organizing themselves to sell our future.”

In the report, the DRC government and international partners call on to cancel the 2025 oil tender and invest in development models that respect domestic and community rights. Earth Insight’s Research Manager Anna BEBBINGTON said, “In these fragile ecosystems, oil and gas development, biological diversity, communities, land rights and climate change will have destructive effects on global struggle,” he said.

The DRC government did not respond to the request for comment.

Find the age of more extinction here and follow Biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield for more nature scope in the Guardian application