Chinese Gold Mining Threatens a Protected UN Heritage Site in Congo

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  Scattered along the banks of the Ituri River, buildings cram together, cranes transport dirt and debris scatters the soil. The patches of trees are a scant reminder that a forest once grew there.

Nestled in eastern Congo's Ituri province, the Chinese-run gold mine is rapidly encroaching on an area that many say it shouldn’t be operating in at all - the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, an endangered World Heritage site.

The original boundaries of the reserve were established three decades ago, by Congo’s government and encompassed the area where the Chinese company now mines. But over the years under opaque circumstances, the boundaries shrunk, allowing the company to operate inside the plush forest.

The reserve was already on the endangered list, amid threats of conflict and wildlife trafficking. Now the rapid expansion of the Chinese mines threatens to further degrade the forest and the communities living within. Residents and wildlife experts say the mining's polluting the rivers and soil, decimating trees and swelling the population, increasing poaching, with little accountability.

“It is alarming that a semi-industrial mining operation is being given free rein in what’s supposed to be a protected World Heritage Site, that was already on the danger list,” said Joe Eisen, executive director, of Rainforest Foundation UK.

 Spanning more than 13,000 square kilometers (5,000 square miles), the reserve became a protected site in 1996, due to its unique biodiversity and large number of threatened species, including its namesake, the okapi, a forest giraffe, of which it holds some 15% of the world’s remaining 30,000. It's part of the the Congo Basin rainforest — the world’s second-biggest — and a vital carbon sink that helps mitigate climate change. It also has vast mineral wealth such as gold and diamonds.

Mining is prohibited in protected areas, which includes the reserve, according to Congo's mining code.

Issa Aboubacar, a spokesperson for the Chinese company, Kimia Mining Investment, said the group is operating legally. It recently renewed its permits until 2048, according to government records.

Congo's mining registry said the map they’re using came from files from the ICCN, the body responsible for managing Congo's protected areas, and it’s currently working with the ICCN on updating the boundaries and protecting the park.

The ICCN told The Associated Press that in meetings this year with the mining registry the misunderstandings around the boundaries were clarified and the original ones should be used.

An internal government memo from August, seen by AP, said all companies in the Reserve will be closed down, including Kimia Mining. However, it was unclear when that would happen or how.

The document has not previously been reported and is the first acknowledging that the current boundaries are wrong, according to environmentalists working in Congo.

Rights groups in Congo have long said the permits were illegally awarded by the mining ministry based on inaccurate maps.

Courtesy: www.mrt.com