Gorilla habitats and pristine forest at risk as DRC opens half of country to oil and gas drilling bids

Government launches licensing round for 52 fossil fuel blocks, potentially undermining a flagship conservation initiative and affecting an estimated 39 million peopleThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is opening crucial gorilla habitats and pristine forests to bids for oil and gas drilling, with plans to carve up more than half the country into fossil fuel blocks.The blocks opened for auction cover 124m hectares (306m acres) of land and inland waters described by experts as the "world's worst place to prospect for oil" because they hold vast amounts of carbon and are home to some of the planet's most precious wildlife habitats, including endangered lowland gorillas and bonobo. Continue reading...