Pristine Forest and Endangered Gorilla Habitat at Risk as Half of DRC Opened to Bids for Oil and Gas Drilling: Report

A
baby
gorilla
on
his
mother's
back
in
the
Virunga
National
Park,
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo.
Simoneemanphotography
/
iStock
/
Getty
Images
Plus

The
Democratic
Republic
of
the
Congo
(DRC)
is
home
to
many
species
of
rare
and

endangered
wildlife,
such
as
mountain

gorillas,
eastern
lowland
gorillas
and
bonobos.
But
the
country
has
plans
to
open
more
than
half
its
land
—
including
306
million
acres
of

intact
tropical
forest
and
vital
gorilla
habitat
—
to

oil
and
gas
drilling.

DRC’s
government
began
an
auctioning
round
for
52
oil
blocks
—
in
addition
to
three
that
had
been
previously
awarded
—
threatening
64
percent
of
the
country’s
pristine
forest,
according
to
a
new
report
by
Earth
Insight:

Forests
to
Frontlines:
Oil
Expansion
Threats
in
the
DRC.

“Towering
rainforest
canopies,
winding

river
systems,
and
vast
carbon-rich

peatlands
make
the

Democratic
Republic
of
Congo
(DRC)
one
of
the
most
ecologically
significant
places
on
Earth.
Home
to
the
second-largest
tropical
rainforest
on
the
planet,
the
DRC
harbors
an
astonishing
wealth
of

biodiversity
including

elephants,
great
apes,
endemic

birds,
and
thousands
of

plant
species
that
thrive
in
its
intact

ecosystems,”
a
press
release
from
Earth
Insight
said.
“Its
Cuvette
Centrale
peatlands
store
massive
amounts
of

carbon,
critical
to
fighting

climate
change.
The

landscapes
that
form
this
rich
mosaic
of
life
are
also
a
lifeline
for
millions
of
people,
supporting
local
livelihoods,
cultural
identity,
and
climate
resilience.”

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It
is
estimated
that
the
area
being
auctioned
off
is
home
to
about
39
million
people,
including
many
forest-based
and

Indigenous
communities
who
depend
on
the
tropical
forests
and

rivers
for
their
survival.

“Imagine:
39
million
Congolese
people…
and
64%
of
our
forests
could
be
directly
affected
by
the
awarding
of
these
oil
blocks,”
said

Pascal
Mirindi,
Notre
Terre
Sans
Pétrole’s
campaign
coordinator,
as
The
Guardian
reported.
“And
all
this
while
the
government
is
promoting
the
Kivu-Kinshasa
ecological
corridor.
Where
is
the
logic?
Where
is
the
coherence?
We
are
reminding
our
leaders
that
the
Congolese
people
are
the
primary
sovereign.
We
will
not
remain
silent
while
certain
people
organise
themselves
to
sell
off
our
future.”

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

[image
or
embed]

—
Guardian
Environment
(@environment.theguardian.com)

July
29,
2025
at
12:04
AM

Oil
blocks
overlap
with
20.5
million
acres
of
protected
areas,
21.3
million
acres
of
Key
Biodiversity
Acres
and
165.1
million
acres
of
intact
tropical
forests.
Meanwhile,
72
percent
of
the
recently
established
Kivu-Kinshasa
Green
Corridor
intersects
with
oil
blocks.
This
jeopardizes
its
ecological
integrity
and
undermines
its
sustainable
development
credibility
as
a
climate
solution.

The
majority
of
Cuvette
Centrale
—
the
largest
tropical
peatland
complex
in
the
world
and
a
critical
carbon
sink
that
stores
roughly
30
gigatons
of
carbon
—
is
also
part
of
the
newly
designated
oil
blocks
and
at
extreme
risk
of
degradation.

“The
ecological
health
of
the
DRC
is
deeply
intertwined
with
the
health
of
the
planet,
playing
an
outsized
role
in
regulating
the
global
climate
and
preserving
biodiversity.
Yet
despite
strong
national
and
international
opposition,
the
DRC
has
continued
to
pursue

fossil
fuel
development
across
ecologically
sensitive
areas.
In
2022,
the
government
launched
a
controversial
auction
for
30
oil
and
gas
blocks,
many
of
which
overlapped
with
protected
areas,
peatlands,
and
Indigenous
and
local
lands,”
Earth
Insight
said.

The
latest
round
of
auctions
is
a
drastic
expansion
of
the
controversial
2022
auction
and
is
a
direct
threat
to
the
DRC’s
conservation
goals,
undermining
its
global
commitments
to
the
protection
of
biodiversity
and
climate
action.

“The
DRC’s
new
oil
licensing
round
calls
into
question
the
country’s
stated
commitment
to
environmental
protection
and
social
progress.
Rather
than
steering
away
from
fossil
fuel
expansion,
the
government
has
dramatically
widened
the
reach
of
oil
concessions,
putting
at
risk
the
ecological
integrity
of
the
Congo
Basin,”
Earth
Insight
said.
“More
than
half
of
the
country
(53%)
is
now
covered
by
oil
blocks,
threatening
vast
areas
of
ecological
importance,
disrupting
local
livelihoods,
and
threatening
lands
of
cultural
and
spiritual
significance,
undermining
the
country’s
potential
for
sustainable
development.”

The
report
proposes
that
“[i]n
line
with
the
demands
of
Congolese
Civil
Society,”
the
DRC
government
and
its
international
partners
cancel
the
2025
licensing
round
and
stop
all
future
hydrocarbon
expansion.

It
also
asks
that
the
rights
of
local
communities
and
Indigenous
Peoples
be
respected
and
upheld,
and
that
donor
support
and
international
financing
be
aligned
with
the
country’s
commitments
to
biodiversity,
rights
and
climate.
It
highlights
the
need
for
communities
and
civil
society
to
be
involved
in
environmental
governance,
decision-making
and
monitoring,
with
a
guarantee
of
meaningful
participation
and
transparency.

“Oil
and
gas
development
in
these
fragile
ecosystems
would
have
devastating
impacts
on
biodiversity,
communities,
land
rights
and
the
global
fight
against
climate
change,”
said
Anna
Bebbington,
an
Earth
Insight
research
manager,
as
reported
by
The
Guardian.

The
Earth
Insight
report
is
a
partnership
with
DRC-based
Coalition
des
Organisations
de
la
Société
Civile
pour
le
Suivi
des
Reformes
et
de
Action
Publique
(CORAP)
and
Our
Land
Without
Oil,
along
with
Rainforest
Foundation
UK.

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