A Conservation group, WWF has opposed the bid by UK's Soco International to explore for oil in the Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest park, located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The virunga National Park, which contains lakes, forests, savannah and volcanoes, was founded in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium. It is home to some 200 endangered mountain gorillas.
Expressing his reservations, Raymond Lumbuenamo, country director for WWF-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), noted that "once you turn it into an oil field you sell it once and it's gone for good. It's going to get destroyed, polluted - the beauty of it will go to waste".
Soco has however stated that its activities does not threaten the activities of the park. Soco is the only company of its kind working in Virunga after France's Total said it would not do so.
No comments:
Post a Comment