Wednesday 26 March 2014
the blog elly @tourism in uganda :
BUILDING
A CONCRETE FUTURE WHERE HUMANS LIVE IN HARMONY WITH
NATURE.
Oil
exploration threatens Africa’s billion dollar UNESCO world heritage site. (Virunga
mountains national park.)
When we heard of UK SOCO international plc were exploring
for oil inside the virunga we had to inform the whole world to draw the line
against these invasive activities
Virunga is one of Africa’s oldest national parks and a jewel
in the crown of Africa’s natural heritage site shared by three countries;
Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. It hosts more species of
mammals including Africa’s icons like the lions, elephants, hippos,
chimpanzees, the remarkable okapi, huge number of birds and the quarter of
world’s critically remaining endangered mountain gorillas. SOCO’s exploring for
oil is another threat to virunga despite the civil unrest and wars that has put
pressure on the lives of local people, wildlife and resources on and off for a
long period of time.
But I believe oil exploration would bring new an acceptable
level of risk to virunga’s environment and local communities despite some
people’s arguments that it would bring benefits is unlikely. We have seen
places where oil exploration (oil spills) has led to fatal environmental
consequences such as in the Niger delta. Should oil exploration lead to
extraction in and around the park? This could rob the future development of
surrounding communities and wellbeing of people, this is not a development
pathway we want to see. There is a second hydropower project that has started
on the river that runs through virunga national park in the eastern Democratic
republic of Congo that’s funded by Americans. Even though it is expected to
provide hydropower of worse 12.5 megawatts and safe drinking water to the
communities. These and many invasive activities have led to public outcry from
international bodies like the world wildlife fund, UNESCO, world heritage site
committee, ecotourists and local people
which present an alternative potentially damaging oil exploration which
is currently being pursued by UK SOCO international plc on vurunga’s lake
Edward which provides fish, raw materials and drinking water to 50,000 people.
Despite this opposition SOCO is pressing ahead with
operations. In October 2013 the world wildlife fund filled a complaint alleging
violations of human rights and environmental provisions of the OECD guidelines
for multinational companies in addition the United nations guiding principles
on business and human rights stress that human rights due thoroughness is key to way in which business can ensure
they respect human rights during their operations. This has attracted publicity in the mane of
drawing the line against SOCO and it’s our right to tell it to get out of the
virunga. As students of tourism and future tourism practitioners this is of
great concern to join hands and the world and stop oil exploration in Virunga
Mountains.
From the economic point of view the park provides socio-economic
benefits like food, raw materials, water catchment, secure supplies of drinking
water it’s a carbon sequestration and holds endless opportunities for the
multi-sector tourism industry and recreation. I am greatly moved to join the
campaign against oil exploration in virunga to save this precious park. This is
a call to the international community to and various stakeholders, tourism
professionals from major universities in DRC (Goma university), Uganda
(Makerere university ), students, nature conservation bodies from all over the world to mount pressure on
the UK SOCO plc international from exploring oil in virunga national park. I found it necessary regardless of the matter
tourism as a course at the university but rather to defend the rights of nature
and the intrinsitive to humans in the world despite the image and location of
virunga national park.
I found
it more a must publicist article that has sign the petition to join
international force from organizations such as the world wildlife fund, the
UNESCO, UNEP and by the threatened local community’s plus home governments from
the East African region to draw the line and tell SOCO
international PLC to get out of virunga national park now.
Like this Articles
Tumwesiga
elly .
Tourism
activism.
+256784810295/+256704593408
http://etumwesiga.blogspot.com (the blog elly @ tourism in Uganda).
i wish to extend my thanks to WWF, IUCN, and other strong stakeholders who draw the line against UK SOCO plc's invasive activities.
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