The Economic Value of Virunga National Park - World Wildlife Fund

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secure its natural sites” (paragraph 3). 4 This implies a commitment by the DRCgovernment to secure Virunga from activities like oil development.Similarly, during Ramsar’s 2012 convention, a joint statement was issued thathighlighted the risks of drilling in Lake Edward in terms of population growthand infrastructure development within the park’s boundaries. 5 The UnitedKingdom (UK), France and South Africa (home countries of Soco, Total andSacOil respectively) and Democratic Republic of the Congo 6 have ratified theRamsar convention prohibiting oil extraction from wetlands of internationalimportance such as Virunga.In 2012, the UK government released the following press statement: “TheUK opposes oil exploration within Virunga, a World Heritage site listedby UNESCO as being ‘in danger.’ We have informed Soco and urge thegovernment of the DRC to fully respect the international conventions to whichit is a signatory.” 7 In November 2012, the Belgian Federal Parliament adopteda resolution requesting the DRC government to act rapidly in order to stopirreparable damage to the park and requesting the Belgian government toplead with Paris and London “so that they effectively meet the UNESCO’srequest to do everything possible to ensure that oil and mining companiesestablished on their territory (Soco and Total) do not damage the propertiesinscribed on the World Heritage List” and “considering sanctions against theoil companies Total and Soco if they do not respect the laws of the DRC andits international commitments, particularly vis-à-vis UNESCO.” 8 To date, noaction has been taken on the part of the DRC government to stop explorationactivities within the borders of the park.In the absence of a law to regulate the oil industry in the DRC, a DraftHydrocarbon Bill 9 has been proposed. Upon reviewing the bill, the ValeColombia Centre on Sustainable International Investment noted that “thereis a lot of discretion given to the minister in some cases and to other bodiesin other cases, to determine issues by decree or authorizations, or to getaround restrictions… Article 24 appears unusual in that it states that thegranting of rights will be subject to respect of protected areas, but at thesame time allows for a decree to derogate from this restriction. This createsa risk that rights will be granted in protected areas – decrees can be passedmuch more easily than legislation, simply by the relevant minister. Theydo not need to pass parliament.” 10 Further, Article 98 of the draft bill doesnot reflect best-practice standards for social and environmental impactassessments. No requirement is made to include plans for the managementof: alien species, biological conservation, waste, air pollution, groundand surface water, closure, rehabilitation and stakeholder consultation,among others. 1162 The Economic Value of Virunga National Park
ADDITIONALINFORMATIONON CARBONSEQUESTRATIONThe REDD+ scheme, in which the DRC is already engaged, could potentiallygenerate the necessary funding to address a wide range of development andenvironment challenges. Specific initiatives can help to address the risk ofdeforestation through:● Reduction of demand for charcoal by improving energy efficiency byintroducing more efficient wood stoves for cooking, and by a better andimproved transformation of wood into charcoal; 12● Conservation of existing stocks by increasing wood production outsideVirunga, such as the ECOmakala reforestation programme; 13● Diversification of the existing energy sources through the installationof renewable energy sources such as hydropower, and the investment inthe necessary infrastructure to provide electricity.This value from REDD+ could be increased through the participation incarbon sequestration projects. The first project registered by the countryunder the Clean Development Mechanism was the Ibi Batéké carbonsink plantation. The project will replant 4,200 hectares of degraded landand trap an estimated 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2). 14 TheYasuní-ITT Trust Fund, launched by the Ecuadorian government andmanaged by the United Nations Development Programme, providesanother opportunity to protect biodiversity, enhance conservation andreduce CO 2emissions. 15NOTES1. Hatfield, R. and Malleret-King, D. 2007. The Economic Value of the Mountain GorillaProtected Forests. International Gorilla Conservation Programme.2. Order-Law No 69-041 of 22 August 1969 on the Conservation of Nature.3. “Lastly, [Order-Law No 69-041] enables ICCN to remove the restrictions listed in Articles 4and 5 for persons that it names and under conditions that it determines, particularly in thecase of, when conducting scientific research, it is necessary to take material study samples(animals, plants, and minerals), to conduct drilling, excavation, surveying, and all otherwork that may modify the look of the land or the vegetation (see Art. 7).” Plan D’attenuationEt De Rehabilitation Revize Du Projet Des Campagnes Aeromagnetique, Gravimetrique EtD’acquisitions Sismiques Dans Le Bloc V Du Graben Albertine (Province Du Nord-Kivu). June2011. En RDC Propose Par Soco Exploration & Production-Drc « Soco E&P DRC» RapportFinal, xxiv.4. UNESCO. 2011. Déclaration de Kinshasa, http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/news/documents/news-702-1.pdf5. Jim Leape. July 2012. Joint IOP Statement at the 11 th Ramsar Conference of the Parties(COP11) Bucharest, http://www.ramsar.org/pdf/cop11/ppt/cop11-statement-012-iops.pdf6. The Democratic Republic of Congo ratified the Ramsar Convention and this entered into forceon May 1996. Currently three sites in the country are included in the Ramsar list.7. WWF. 2012. UK government opposes Virunga oil exploration – SOCO must take note,http://www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=6223The Economic Value of Virunga National Park 63
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REPORT2013THEECONOMIC VALUEOF VIRUN
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Virunga National Park (Virunga) is
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TROUBLE ON THE HORIZONSince becomin
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PROTECTED AREASREPRESENT A LONG-TER
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