The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is globally recognized as an environmental cornerstone, harboring some of the rarest and most endangered wildlife on the planet, including mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, and bonobos. Yet, despite its ecological significance, the central African nation has pushed forward with sweeping plans to open more than half of its total landmass to oil and gas drilling. This massive industrial expansion threatens roughly 306 million acres of intact tropical forest and vital primate habitats, sparking intense concern among conservationists, local communities, and international watchdogs.
The government’s latest initiative involves a sweeping auction round for 52 new oil and gas blocks. This massive offering comes on top of three blocks that had been previously awarded, bringing the total footprint of threatened areas to an unprecedented scale. According to a comprehensive new report titled Forests to Frontlines: Oil Expansion Threats in the DRC, published by Earth Insight in partnership with local and international organizations, these planned fossil fuel concessions threaten fully 64 percent of the country’s pristine forests.
The scope of the ecological wealth hanging in the balance is immense. Towering rainforest canopies, complex winding river systems, and vast carbon-rich peatlands make the DRC one of the most ecologically vital places on Earth. As home to the second-largest tropical rainforest on the planet, the nation shelters an astonishing wealth of biodiversity. Elephants, great apes, thousands of endemic bird species, and countless plants thrive within these intact ecosystems. Furthermore, the expansive Cuvette Centrale peatlands store staggering amounts of carbon, playing a crucial role in mitigating global climate change. These landscapes also serve as a foundational lifeline for millions of people, supporting local livelihoods, preserving cultural identity, and bolstering regional climate resilience.
Estimates indicate that the vast territory slated for auction is home to approximately 39 million people. This population includes numerous forest-dependent and Indigenous communities who rely entirely on the tropical forests and river networks for their physical and cultural survival. The potential disruption to these populations has galvanized grassroots resistance across the region.
"Imagine: 39 million Congolese people and 64 percent of our forests could be directly affected by the awarding of these oil blocks," said Pascal Mirindi, campaign coordinator for Notre Terre Sans Pétrole, in statements reported by The Guardian. "And all this while the government is promoting the Kivu-Kinshasa ecological corridor. Where is the logic? Where is the coherence? We are reminding our leaders that the Congolese people are the primary sovereign. We will not remain silent while certain people organise themselves to sell off our future."
The spatial overlap between the newly designated oil blocks and protected conservation areas underscores the severity of the threat. The proposed concessions overlap with 20.5 million acres of protected areas, 21.3 million acres of designated Key Biodiversity Areas, and an astonishing 165.1 million acres of intact tropical forests. Alarmingly, 72 percent of the recently established Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor intersects directly with these oil blocks. This severe spatial conflict jeopardizes the corridor’s ecological integrity and severely undermines the DRC’s international credibility in promoting sustainable development as a viable climate solution.
Compounding these concerns is the vulnerability of the Cuvette Centrale, the largest tropical peatland complex in the world. Functioning as a critical global carbon sink, this peatland stores roughly 30 gigatons of carbon. The vast majority of this complex now falls within the newly designated oil blocks, placing it at extreme risk of industrial degradation and threatening to release massive quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Environmental organizations emphasize that the ecological health of the DRC is deeply intertwined with the stability of the global climate system. "The ecological health of the DRC is deeply intertwined with the health of the planet, playing an outsized role in regulating the global climate and preserving biodiversity," Earth Insight noted in a statement. "Yet despite strong national and international opposition, the DRC has continued to pursue fossil fuel development across ecologically sensitive areas. In 2022, the government launched a controversial auction for 30 oil and gas blocks, many of which overlapped with protected areas, peatlands, and Indigenous and local lands."
This latest round of auctions represents a dramatic escalation from the contentious 2022 licensing push. By expanding the scope of available concessions, the government has directly challenged its own stated conservation goals and undermined its global commitments to biodiversity protection and climate action.
"The DRC’s new oil licensing round calls into question the country’s stated commitment to environmental protection and social progress," Earth Insight stated. "Rather than steering away from fossil fuel expansion, the government has dramatically widened the reach of oil concessions, putting at risk the ecological integrity of the Congo Basin. More than half of the country—53 percent—is now covered by oil blocks, threatening vast areas of ecological importance, disrupting local livelihoods, and threatening lands of cultural and spiritual significance, undermining the country’s potential for sustainable development."
In response to these developments, the Forests to Frontlines report outlines clear demands aligned with the desires of Congolese civil society. The coalition calls on the DRC government and its international partners to cancel the 2025 licensing round entirely and halt all future hydrocarbon expansion within the country’s borders.
Additionally, the report urges that the rights of local communities and Indigenous peoples be fully respected and upheld. It calls for international donor support and financing to be strictly aligned with the nation’s legal and moral commitments to biodiversity, human rights, and climate mitigation. Furthermore, the recommendations highlight the urgent need for local communities and civil society organizations to be meaningfully involved in environmental governance, decision-making processes, and ongoing monitoring, backed by guaranteed transparency.
"Oil and gas development in these fragile ecosystems would have devastating impacts on biodiversity, communities, land rights, and the global fight against climate change," said Anna Bebbington, an Earth Insight research manager, as reported by The Guardian.
The comprehensive report was produced through a collaborative partnership involving Earth Insight, the DRC-based Coalition des Organisations de la Société Civile pour le Suivi des Reformes et de Action Publique (CORAP), Our Land Without Oil, and the Rainforest Foundation UK, reflecting a unified domestic and international front challenging the widespread industrialization of the Congo Basin’s most vulnerable landscapes.
