Ending Coal Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction in the Congo’s National Parks

Although Virunga National Park’s pristine wilderness has been granted protections under Congolese and international law, companies from Europe and elsewhere are pursuing plans for coal, oil, and gas extraction in and around the park.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to the second-largest rainforest in the world. Virunga National Park is Africa’s oldest national park and a sanctuary for diverse wildlife such as hippos, elephants, and some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas.  In 2015, seismic tests carried out by British oil company, Soco, revealed oil beneath the pristine wilderness.

Although Virunga National Park has been granted protections under Congolese and international law, companies from Europe and elsewhere continue to pursue plans for coal, oil, and gas extraction in and around the park. Oil concessions cover nearly 85% of the park, and the government continues to explore opening up oil blocks for drilling by foreign investors and developers. 

Our Work

CliDef is supporting frontline grassroots defenders, park rangers, and community activists to stop the sale of coal, gas, and oil blocks in the Virunga National Park, and prevent the construction of new fossil fuel facilities. We are supporting and building a firewall around the defenders on the ground seeking to stop the awards of new licenses and contracts as well as the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructures.

We are collaborating with local partner, ACEDH, to recruit a team of experienced criminal defense lawyers and expert witnesses. This team will represent park rangers who have been falsely charged by government officials for trying to exploit oil and gas in the park. Additionally, CLiDef is helping ACEDH hire appeal lawyers from the DRC Supreme Court bar to represent five community activists who have been falsely charged for opposing coal, oil, and gas licenses located within the territory of Rutshuru, in North Kivu.