Soco Big Oil, how dare you. 'Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo received the Abraham Conservation Award in recognition of the work done by conservation brave men who have the strength and courage to fight illegal activities that is degrading the Congolese heritage earlier this year.' 'The Head Ranger of the Central Sector of Virunga National Park, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, is held in jail already for five days by the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) in Goma. He was arrested by the military for opposing the execution of a project of UK oil company Soco International, local NGO partners in the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) explained on Tuesday, 24 September 2013. Soco has obtained government permits for oil exploration in block 5, which covers about 85% of Virunga National Park. The presidential order granting exploration and production of oil has been signed by the Head of State in June 2010. However, since the enactment of this Ordinance, the exploration and exploitation of oil in the Virunga National Park met with resistance from ICCN, local politicians and environmental NGOs. africanconservation.org/virunga/item/virunga-national-park-head-ranger-in-jail-in-congo-for-opposing-illegal-construction-work-within-park-boundaries
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 03:34:18 +0000