<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/01/us-firm-bid-turn-drc-oil-concessions-virunga-park-into-conservation-projects-aoe>
"A New York investment firm is to launch a $400m (£334m) bid for oil
concessions in the Congo basin rainforest and Virunga national park with plans
to turn them into conservation projects, the Guardian can reveal.
EQX Biome, a biodiversity fintech company, has sent an expression of interest
to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government for 27 oil exploration
blocks put up for auction last July, some of which are in critical ecosystems.
The concessions include areas of critically endangered gorilla habitat, parts
of the world’s largest tropical peatlands in the Cuvette Centrale, and swathes
of the planet’s second-largest rainforest in the Congo basin, prompting
criticism from environmentalists and western governments who have warned of
irreversible environmental harm if exploration goes ahead. Three gas blocks,
put up for auction at the same time, have already been sold to North American
companies.
The preservation of tropical forests will be at the centre of discussions at
the One Forest summit in Libreville this week, where the French president,
Emmanuel Macron, and Ali Bongo, the president of Gabon, will meet with
governments, NGOs and Indigenous leaders to discuss their conservation, with a
particular focus on the Congo basin.
New York-based EQX Biome is proposing to prevent oil exploration in these areas
by establishing conservation projects in partnership with NGOs and by selling
carbon and biodiversity credits based on avoiding the damage oil exploration
would have caused.
The investment would help the DRC to meet its contribution to protecting 30% of
the planet by 2030, a target agreed at the Cop15 biodiversity summit last
December in Montreal, said EQX Biome."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-heart-united-states-democracy-uruguay-nature-rights-ecuador/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
