Indigenous groups, activists resist Congo’s oil block plan

By WANJOHI KABUKURU
Associated Press

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — The auctioning of oil and gas blocks in Congo has stirred resistance and concern among local Indigenous communities worried about damage to their homes and large swaths of forest, according to a report released Thursday by several environmental groups. In late July, the Congolese government put 30 oil and gas blocks in the Congo Basin forest up for auction. The forest absorbs an extraordinary amount of carbon dioxide, some of which would be released into the atmosphere if the areas are cleared. Congo’s government has defended the decision by stressing the need to diversify the country’s mining-reliant economy. It is one of the world’s poorest nations and one of the most vulnerable to climate change.