This sweeping energy initiative involves a massive auctioning round for 52 new oil blocks, which comes in addition to three blocks previously awarded. 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 environmental organizations, these concessions threaten roughly 64 percent of the country’s pristine forest ecosystems.
The scope of the auction has raised profound alarms among conservationists, scientists, and local communities alike. The targeted zones overlap significantly with internationally recognized sanctuaries, key biodiversity areas, and indigenous lands. For a nation that houses the second-largest tropical rainforest on the planet, the pivot toward widespread hydrocarbon extraction presents a severe contradiction to both national conservation pledges and international climate agreements.
Earth Insight’s report emphasizes the irreplaceable global value of the DRC’s natural landscapes. Towering rainforest canopies, complex winding river systems, and vast, carbon-dense peatlands make the region one of the most ecologically significant on Earth. The country harbors an astonishing wealth of biodiversity, including rare populations of elephants, mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, bonobos, endemic bird species, and thousands of distinct plant varieties that thrive within these undisturbed ecosystems.
Furthermore, the region’s Cuvette Centrale peatlands store massive quantities of carbon, acting as an indispensable global sink in the ongoing fight against climate change. Scientists and environmental advocates have repeatedly stressed that the stability of these ecosystems is directly tied to the stability of the global climate. Yet, the newly designated oil blocks cover the majority of the Cuvette Centrale, placing the world’s largest tropical peatland complex at extreme risk of industrial degradation.
Beyond its ecological and climatic importance, the land slated for auction is far from empty. It is estimated that approximately 39 million people reside within or adjacent to these areas, including numerous forest-based and Indigenous communities who depend entirely on the tropical forests and river systems for their survival, cultural identity, and daily sustenance.
The disconnect between official national policies and the realities on the ground has drawn sharp criticism from local civil society leaders. Pascal Mirindi, campaign coordinator for Notre Terre Sans Pétrole, highlighted the profound contradiction during a statement covered by international media. He pointed out the jarring irony of the government promoting ecological initiatives like the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor while simultaneously auctioning off the very lands that sustain it.
"Imagine: 39 million Congolese people and 64 percent of our forests could be directly affected by the awarding of these oil blocks," Mirindi said. "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 statistical overlap between the newly designated oil blocks and protected conservation zones underscores the severity of the threat. Earth Insight’s analysis reveals that the oil concessions intersect with 20.5 million acres of protected areas, 21.3 million acres of Key Biodiversity Areas, and 165.1 million acres of intact tropical forests. Furthermore, 72 percent of the recently established Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor overlaps directly with the oil blocks, fundamentally undermining its ecological integrity and its credibility as a legitimate sustainable development or climate solution.
This current push represents a massive escalation from previous government actions. In 2022, the administration launched a controversial auction for 30 oil and gas blocks, which also drew widespread domestic and international condemnation due to their overlap with sensitive ecological zones, peatlands, and local territories. Rather than pulling back from those controversial efforts in the wake of mounting scientific warnings, the latest licensing round dramatically widens the geographical reach of potential fossil fuel extraction.
Earth Insight researchers point out that the DRC’s aggressive pursuit of fossil fuel development directly challenges its stated commitments to global biodiversity frameworks and emissions reduction targets. Anna Bebbington, an Earth Insight research manager, emphasized the broad-reaching consequences of the initiative, noting that oil and gas development in these fragile ecosystems would yield devastating impacts on biodiversity, local land rights, and the collective global effort to mitigate climate change.
The new licensing round brings the total amount of the country covered by oil blocks to an astounding 53 percent. According to the report, this massive expansion threatens to permanently disrupt local livelihoods, erode lands of profound cultural and spiritual significance, and derail the country’s potential for genuine sustainable economic development.
In response to these developments, the Forests to Frontlines report outlines a series of urgent recommendations formulated in alignment with the demands of Congolese civil society. The coalition calls upon the DRC government and its international partners to immediately cancel the 2025 licensing round and halt all future hydrocarbon expansion initiatives across the country.
Additionally, the report urges authorities to strictly respect and uphold the land rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples. It emphasizes that international financial support and donor contributions must be closely aligned with binding commitments to biodiversity preservation, human rights, and climate action. To ensure accountability, the report highlights the absolute necessity of involving local communities and civil society organizations in environmental governance, decision-making, and monitoring processes, backed by guarantees of meaningful participation and transparency.
The report is the product of a collaborative effort involving Earth Insight, the DRC-based Coalition des Organisations de la Société Civile pour le Suivi des Reformes et de Action Publique, known as CORAP, Our Land Without Oil, and the Rainforest Foundation UK. As the debate over the future of the Congo Basin intensifies, civil society groups and international conservationists continue to press for a reevaluation of national priorities, warning that the permanent loss of these pristine environments would carry irreversible consequences for both the Congolese people and the global climate.
