As global attention turns to the Republic of Congo for the upcoming First Global Congress of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities of Forest Basins, Congolese and international civil society organisations have issued a statement demanding an immediate ban on oil and mining activities in the Conkouati-Douli National Park.

The coalition has denounced the Congolese government’s plan to grant a new hydrocarbon exploration permit, known as the ‘Niambi’ permit, within the boundaries of the national park, an area internationally recognised for its rich biodiversity and vital role in the global fight against climate change.

The move, which was pre-approved during a Council of Ministers meeting on 18 April, would allow ORIENTAL Energy to explore for oil in an area covering nearly 1,300 square kilometres, much of it within the core conservation zone of the park. Critics warn that this could contravene Congolese laws protecting the park and threatens the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples and local communities who depend on the area’s forests and marine ecosystems.

Conkouati-Douli National Park is home to approximately 7,000 people, as well as rare and endangered species such as lowland gorillas, hawksbill turtles and Atlantic humpback dolphins. According to Article 6 of Decree 99-13 bis (1999), any mining or oil activities in fully protected zones of the park are strictly prohibited. Yet the majority of the Niambi permit falls within these prohibited areas.

“This is not just a local issue, it's symptomatic of a wider and deeply troubling trend across the Congo Basin,” said Kim Aumonier, RFUK’s Monitoring and Rights Manager. “Time and again, we are seeing protected areas and critical ecosystems targeted for short-term extractive gain, often in violation of national law and without the consent of local communities.”

The situation in Conkouati-Douli echoes similar concerns raised in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the government recently auctioned 52 oil blocks across sensitive environments, including the vast Cuvette Centrale peatlands.

National and international NGOs are now calling on the Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso not to sign the decree authorising the Niambi permit and to cancel any previously issued permits for oil and mining in the park and its surrounding areas. They are also urging international partners to make conservation support contingent on the protection of such areas and the rights of forest peoples.

Trésor Nzila, Director of Centre d’Actions pour le Développement, said: “International events organised by the authorities of the Republic of Congo on climate, the environment and the rights of local and Indigenous communities lose all credibility when their actions systematically contradict the causes they claim to defend.”

This development also raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to protect 30 percent of its land and seas by 2030 (30x30), to its own Indigenous Peoples law (2011) and to its various international human rights obligations.

RFUK stands in solidarity with Congolese civil society in demanding an immediate halt to oil and gas expansion in protected areas and a renewed commitment to community-based conservation.