Environmental group Greenpeace Africa has released a report saying planned oil and gas exploration in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could expose more than a million people to pollution and disease.
The planned sale of 30 eastern land blocks that sprawl into a famous gorilla reserve would also threaten wildlife and food security, while fueling conflict, poverty and corruption, according to the report.
Locals accuse the government of keeping them in the dark and have expressed fear of losing their livelihoods when companies start drilling for fossil fuels.
Representatives of Greenpeace Africa and partner organizations visited approximately 30 villages in July to assess community awareness of the planned exploration and how they intend to protect their lands and livelihoods.
Mbong Akiy Fokwa Tsafack, communications manager at Greenpeace Africa, said many communities are unaware of the government’s plan to auction their land.
“The idea that the government was considering auctioning off their land for oil was really a shock to them. They weren’t aware, so they didn’t know it was going on, which is quite shocking being given how much the government has said it plans to really put people first,” Tsafack said.
No one asked locals what they thought of the oil and gas drilling project, said Bantu Lukambo, who works with Innovation for Development and Environmental Protection, an NGO monitoring the wellbeing of communities around of Virunga National Park.
The government is supposed to get public input before undertaking such exploration, he said, but it did not. Even members of parliament were not included in the decision-making process, he added.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi defended his government’s plan during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week, saying the discovery of oil would bring economic development to his people.
Hydrocarbons Minister Didier Budimbu Ntubuanga, speaking at the Africa Oil Week conference in Senegal earlier this month, said the DRC had received two bids for the oil blocks and said any exploration will follow environmental guidelines. .
Lukambo doubts that is the case.
He fears that all the fish will die if the exploration begins, and that the fishermen and their families will get into trouble. Furthermore, he added, 14 of the oil blocks are in Virunga National Park, and the rest are in agricultural areas. If exploration starts on land, he says, farmers won’t farm their land.
Oil exploration blocks straddle parts of Congo’s most pristine ecosystems and Virunga Park, home to more than 1,000 species of animals and birds.
Tsafack said Congolese leaders must reconsider their decision to allow oil exploration in the park and nearby areas.
“This is a time when we need to see leadership come forward, in terms of zeal to root out corruption, strengthen good governance and empower the people of the DRC. [the] at the heart of any type of development program,” Tsafack said. “And putting the people of the DRC at the heart of any development agenda really means looking at communities and finding out what will improve their lives.
Greenpeace’s 20-page report urges the government to stop the projects and encourage alternative investments in renewable energy sources.
