Campaigners have managed to keep the Congo national park free from drilling just as protected sites elsewhere are being cravenly redrawn
It seems incredible anyone could contemplate drilling for oil in Virunga. Not only is this sprawling national park the oldest in Africa, almost the only commendable Belgian colonial legacy in the brutalised Democratic Republic of Congo, but it is also a place of unique biodiversity. The spectacular habitats include tropical forests, marshes, savannahs, active volcanoes, lava lakes, even glaciers and they are home to half the species in Africa, including a high proportion of the world’s few surviving mountain gorillas.
Little wonder it was designated a world heritage site by the United Nations. Yet four years ago Soco, an energy exploration company listed in London, was given permission to hunt for oil across the straggly southern half of this supposedly protected park. Opposition has grown in recent months, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu leading protests against this proposed act of environmental savagery.