Virunga national park in Congo is under threat

The WWF which is a conservation group has asked the UK-based company Soco International to discard their idea of exploring the oil in Africa’s oldest national park Virunga in Dr. Congo. Charity says Soco International’s proposals will put the Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at risk.

Virunga is a home to more than 3,000 different species of animals among which is the mountain gorillas but Soco has denied that its activities threatened the environment of the park and that they are only evaluating the resources there but have no intention of destroying the park.

According to the WWF, the idea of exploiting the oil in this World Heritage Site is likely to cause widespread pollution and environmental destruction as well as create conflicts between various groups of people. This is because if this place is turned into an oil field, it will be sold out at once and it’s gone for good, it will be destroyed, polluted and its beauty will be wasted so said Raymond Lumbuenamo who is the country director for WWF-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Soco is the only company of its kind that is working in Virunga after France’s Total said it would not do so. WWF has asked Sacco that instead of oil exploration, they should set up some sustainable activities such as hydro power generation, fishing and eco tourism and these can be very useful in development of the country too.

Within the Virunga National Park, there are lakes, forests, savannah and volcanoes and it was founded in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium and it is a home to some 200 endangered mountain gorillas, according to its website and the International Gorilla Conservation Programme says there are currently 880 mountain gorillas in the world and destroying the Virunga will lead to a reduction in the number of mt. gorillas.