The immense and rich diversity of ecosystems, incomparable fauna and flora in the Virunga and Salonga parks which is of an exceptional universal value, is now threatened by licensing rounds  for oil exploration by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, through the Ministry of Hydrocarbons.

Faced with this threat to these legendary parks, both UNESCO global heritage and RAMSAR sites that are home to an amazing biodiversity including rare and endangered species that do not exist anywhere else in the world, local communities as well as the local civil society took action to oppose these oil exploration licences which would have devastating consequences on the lives and rights of the people in the local community including deforestation, insecurity, pollution, destruction of the communities' livelihoods  and climate change.

The local communities and local civil society are calling upon the Congolese government for the strict observance of the laws of the Republic and international conventions on protecting the environment, promoting and protecting farmers' rights, priority investments in renewable energies to promote the sustainable development of local economies through existing economic alternatives within protected areas.

They are calling for an immediate halt to the process for granting oil exploration licences within these sensitive ecosystems, including the decommissioning project for parts of the Virunga and Solanga Parks, both listed as UNESCO world heritage and RAMSAR sites.