14 DAY TRIAL // Soco International PLC, an international oil and gas exploration and production company based in London, UK, is getting ready to carry out exploratory activities in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
These plans have been subject to quite a lot of criticism over the past months, but, by the looks of it, the oil and gas company cannot be bothered to think about bad publicity, especially not when it has more important things, such as profits, on its mind.
The World Wildlife Fund tells us that, as Soco International PLC is getting ready to begin seismic surveys in the Virunga National Park's Lake Edward, fishermen and farmers in the area are growing increasingly restless.
Thus, it was last week when some 100 fishermen and women from the town of Kyavinyonge voiced their complaints concerning said company's oil exploration agenda.
They said that, apart from the fact that the Virunga National Park was listed as a World Heritage Site and should therefore not be explored or exploited, Soco's plans to subject Lake Edward to seismic surveys were likely to directly affect their lives.
More so given the fact that, by the looks of it, once seismic surveys begin, fishing in some parts of Lake Edward is to be off-limits for about 2-3 months, the World Wildlife Fund explains.
“Over 100 fishermen and women from the Democratic Republic of the Congo town of Kyavinyonge said they would never accept activities that put their livelihoods at risk,” the organization writes on its website.
“The fishermen stressed that it is vital to protect Lake Edward’s ecosystems, plants and animals to ensure survival of the fish stocks upon which they depend,” it goes on to detail.
The organization says that farmers in the town of Kiwanja are not all that happy about Soco International PLC's eying the Virunga National Park either. On the contrary, they claim that nobody ever asked for their opinion concerning this project, and demanded that the oil and gas giant keep out of said World Heritage Site.
As the World Wildlife Fund puts it, “In a separate statement, a coalition of farmers based in the town of Kiwanja said that it has never been consulted regarding the oil project, and that as opposition grew, intimidating tactics allegedly were deployed to suppress resistance.”
Furthermore, “The farmers called for the cancellation of Soco’s permit in Virunga, noting that the World Heritage Site is protected by national laws and international treaties.”
It is estimated that, presently, some 50,000 people depend on Lake Edward for jobs, fish, and freshwater, and that the local fishing industry that has developed around this water source generates some $30 million (roughly €21.56 million) on a yearly basis.
Those who wish to help save the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo are invited to sign a World Wildlife Fund petition saying that Soco has no business exploring or exploiting this area.