Beware of the gorilla, sang Fabrizio De André (and before him George Brassens). Today, in the midst of the energy crisis, the warning is likely to be more topical than ever. Indeed, the Democratic Republic of the Congo decided on Monday to auction the rights to oil concessions in the river basin Congo, Including the Virunga National Park, the area populated by gorilla, in the heart of a forest second in size only to theAmazon.
In Congo an ecological disaster announced
Thus a ecological disaster announced: 30 licenses will in fact be auctioned (27 for oil, 3 for gas) which, beyond the customary reassurances, will upset the ecosystem of the Great Lakes area. A crime that, for now, even scares the oil companies. No Big Oil, for now, has made a proposal, but it is useless to have any illusions. Or blame Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world, already the victim of one of the cruellest and most rapacious colonial dominations, followed by half a century of civil wars fueled by foreign interests.
A few months ago, on the occasion of the Glasgow World Environment Conference, the president of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, had reached an agreement with the richest countries: 500 million dollars a year for 10 years in exchange for the commitment to preserve the Lower Congo Basin, however already at the center of investments by multinationals and China for the extraction of cobalt and lithium, precious for the production of electric batteries and other investments for the energy transition. But so many things have changed since the days of Glasgow conference to date. Worse. Above all, the conflict in Ukraine has upset the balance in the world of energy, starting with the Russian blackmail on gas. As a consequence, the economic and political terms of the agreement have changed. But, what's worse, so far the Kinshasa government has not received a single dollar. Thus a possible mockery emerges, in line with the precedent of Ecuador. In 2007 then-President Rafael Correa gave up the exploitation of the Yasuni Park deposits in exchange for investments of 3,6 billion dollars. But the agreement lapsed in 2010 after only crumbs had arrived in the coffers of the South American state: 13 million dollars.
From oil 32 billion in royalties
Hence the government's temptation to bet on oil which, according to estimates, it could guarantee 32 billion in royalties, more than half of the country's current revenue. Despite the almost certain environmental damage, and the hostility of the inhabitants who, taught by the tragedies in the mines, do not have too many illusions: the oil boom has not improved the living conditions in Nigeria, Angola or Equatorial Guinea where most of the population lives below the poverty line. But President Tsishekedi retorts that the proceeds from the crude oil will make it possible to protect part of the territory. Next year, then, there are elections: the government fears a return of former dictator Kabila, which can count on the support of the numerous mercenary militias fueled by various interests.
In short, the perverse mixture triggered by the war in Ukraine, combined with the gas crisis and the atmosphere of recession, risks opening the door to the extermination of the poor and innocent gorillas, as well as marking a new step towards environmental disaster. Something more dramatic than a gas shortage.
