The park is home to a variety of iconic and rare species, including hippos, chimpanzees, elephants and birds. Rangers in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although who shot de Mérode and why is yet to be established. As a result, it is home to millions of species. Most of Virunga National Park is covered by 3 oil prospection blocks (Blocks III, IV, and V). Preventing oil drilling in Virunga National Park. DR Congo approves oil drilling in Unesco World Heritage Sites that home endangered gorillas. British NGO Global Witness said the appeal has been signed by some 60 groups -- including Greenpeace, the African … A lot of steps to make the animals receive the same treatment as those of human receive a lot of advocation. Virunga is a 2014 British documentary film directed by Orlando von Einsiedel.It focuses on the conservation work of park rangers within the Congo's Virunga National Park during the rise of the violent M23 Rebellion in 2012 and investigates the activity of the British oil company Soco International within the UNESCO World Heritage site. British oil company Soco has agreed to halt its oil exploration activities in Africa’s oldest national park, following a year-long campaign from WWF. Virunga is Africa’s oldest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also the continent’s most biologically diverse protected area. Virunga National Park is unrivalled in its diversity of landscapes and ecosystems. “It would not be a minor modification of the park limits. Credit: Joseph King. As Reuters reports, parts of the Virunga and Salonga National Parks will be opened up for oil drilling. Protecting the forests of Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - home to endangered mountain gorillas - could be described as one of the toughest jobs on the planet. There is currently an oil drilling ban in the park. A UNESCO mission to Virunga, home to 200 Mountain gorillas, has demanded an end to oil exploitation in the National Park, which it describes as 'extremely threatened'. 10 talking about this. The Battle for Oil in Virunga National Park The World Wildlife Fund recently announced a victory in the fight to prevent British oil company Soco from drilling in Congo’s Virunga National Park after an agreement was reached following mediation by the OECD – the international body that issues guidelines for multinationals operating in foreign countries. (8) Today, it is home to a quarter of the world’s mountain gorilla population, as well as countless other species. The DRC says it will allow oil drilling in two UNESCO world heritage sites. International environment and rights groups on Thursday launched a joint plea to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ugandan governments not to allow oil drilling in or around the Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest wildlife reserve famed for its mountain gorillas. Save Virunga National Park. has 4,262 members. At approximately 7,800 square kilometers (3,000 square miles) in size, it encompasses savannas, swamps, lake shores, rich forests, active volcanoes, and glaciated mountains. Around one-fifth of Virunga national park will be opened to oil drilling, according to the BBC. Suspend all Oil-Related Activities in Virunga National Park, Gov’ts Told. Oil drilling in Virunga National Park by SOCO International plc, DR of Congo. As the easier-to-tap oil supplies in more traditional oil-producing regions have dwindled, more and more companies have shown a willingness to push into uncharted and remote areas. In conclusion, the Virunga and Salonga National Park offer refuge to rare and yet the most threatened wildlife species whose survival in the wild is highly at risk of extinction and hence need maximum protection. Virunga National Park is the size of a small country. Exploring for oil can involve seismic testing, forest clearing, deep underground drilling and, ultimately, the installation of underground pipelines. This decision follows a June 2015 report by Global Witness that showed Soco had paid huge sums of money to a Congolese military officer to silence opponents of its oil exploration activities in Virunga National Park. He was shot several times in the chest and abdomen, but survived and was able to leave the scene of the attack with the help of local residents. Above the surrounding areas of Virunga national park. Virunga National Park is Africa's oldest national park and home to about 200 endangered mountain gorillas. Launching oil drilling in their habitat however doesn’t only put them at a risk of extinction but also leads to global warming. Save Virunga is a global initiative to protect Virunga, Africa's oldest national park to brainstorm and seek solutions on a host of problems affecting the wildlife not only in DRC in particular but the whole Virunga massif in general. DRC seeks Virunga Park boundary change for oil exploration. London-based Soco International began seismic testing in the Park last month. Around one-fifth of Virunga national park could be opened to oil drilling. Under present circumstances, Virunga’s estimated annual economic … The Democratic Republic of Congo says it wants to redraw the boundaries of Virunga National Park, a World Heritage site, to allow for oil exploration. To allow drilling for oil wells legally, the government will have to declassify parts of the park, or Virunga as a whole. PROTECT VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK FROM OIL EXPLORATION AND TO PURSUE ITS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Virunga National Park (Virunga) is recognized globally as a uniquely rich site for wildlife, but it is much more than that. The news comes in a statement agreed with WWF, which has campaigned to keep Virunga free of oil and gas exploration and production. Virunga National Park, located on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was the first national park established in Africa. That's about a quarter of the entire population of mountain gorillas. These threatened habitats are populated by Endangered species such as Chimpanzees, Hippos, and Forest Elephants. by ACF Sep 1, 2013 Campaigns, Virunga. On April 15, 2014, armed men shot and seriously wounded Virunga National Park director, Emmanuel de Mérode, a Belgian national who is passionately against oil drilling in Virunga. In 2010, SOCO began oil exploration activities in the Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is home to 200 of the remaining 700 seriously endangered Mountain Gorilla. LinkedIn. Virunga World Heritage Site is safe from oil drilling - for now. Virunga is also a vital resource to local residents living in and around Africa’s oldest national park. Last month, the Democratic Republic of the Congo triggered international outrage when it confirmed that it was considering opening up two of its national parks to oil exploration. Facebook. Animal rights are a very contemporary issue especially on the side of morality. Twitter . NASA Landset image of Lake Edward in Virunga National Park. The company has also pledged to avoid other world heritage sites in the future, with the agreement described as a “victory for our planet” by environmentalists. Here are three points to help us understand this move. Stop Oil Drilling In Virunga! From the acts of drilling oil from the Virunga National Park, some moral controversies are evident. Description: The Virunga National Park is a 7,800 km2 park situated in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, next to the border of Uganda and Rwanda. Virunga National Park: Drilling for oil. Environmentalists have been fighting to keep a British oil company from drilling in Africa’s oldest national park. So when the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo declared that parts of its Virunga National Park had been divided into oil blocks, international oil companies did not take long to react. The government has defended its right to authorise drilling, the cabinet said it had approved the establishment of commissions charged with preparing plans to declassify sections of the parks, including 664 square miles, or 21.5 per cent, of eastern Congo’s Virunga. reddit. All of these could damage Virunga National Park’s delicate ecosystem. The DRC government said in June that it had decided to open up parts of Virunga and Salonga National Parks, home to mountain gorillas, bonobos and other rare species to oil drilling. Save Virunga National Park from Oil Drilling. The parks are home to bush elephants, critically endangered mountain gorillas and the bonobo, an endangered ape. Photo by: NASA. Over 60 environmental and tourism groups demand stop to new oil drilling threat to Africa’s oldest national park. The Virunga national park, in the […] London based oil company SOCO International PLC announced today that it will end its operations in Virunga, Africa's oldest national park. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda have been told to refrain from granting any new licences, or transfer of licences, in Virunga National Park or seeking to re-draw its boundaries in order to allow oil activities in the area. 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