Gorillas Face Grave Risk if Congo Allows Oil Search, Groups Say
- Congo considering opening national parks to boost oil output
- Environmental groups hostile to plans as state plans talks
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Environmental groups involved in running two wildlife reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo said they oppose plans by the government to open the areas to oil exploration.
Congo’s cabinet last month authorized the creation of an inter-institutional committee that will discuss declassifying parts of the Virunga and Salonga national parks to permit a search for crude. Virunga is home to most of the about 1,000 mountain gorillas still alive, while Salonga is the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest reserve. Both are UNESCO World Heritage sites.