Chinese gold mining threatens protected UN heritage site in Congo

(10 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Muchacha mine, Democratic Republic of the Congo – September 2022
1. Various aerial shots of Muchacha mine

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Epulu, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 22 September 2024
2. A river running through Epulu village

THE OKAPI CONSERVATION PROJECT
Okapi Wildlife Reserv, Democratic Republic of the Congo – June 2020
3. Various camera trap videos of wild okapi

THE OKAPI CONSERVATION PROJECT
Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo – August 2020
4. Camera trap video of wild okapi

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Badengaido, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 23 September 2024
5. Various of farmer Muvunga Kakule waling through the forest
6. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Muvunga Kakule, farmer:
"I’m one of the former inhabitants of Badengaido. Around 14 years ago, we lived well, mixing work in the fields with artisanal gold mining. Our life has not been the same since the Chinese came and chased us out of the bush. We can no longer work or send our children to school. If the Chinese meet you in the forest, they hit you. That’s how difficult life has become here in Badengaido."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Epulu, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 21 September 2024
7. Various of children banging on plastic bottles on the street

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Epulu, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 22 September 2024
8. People walking down the main strip in Epulu Village
9. Jean Kamana, the chief of Epulu sits in front of his house
10. SOUNDBITE (French) Jean Kamana, Epulu chief:
“The community is worried, because the Chinese are operating in a protected area where the community is not allowed to do the same.”

THE OKAPI CONSERVATION PROJECT
Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo – May 2023
11. Camera trap videos of wild okapi

THE OKAPI CONSERVATION PROJECT
Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 19 June 2020
12. Camera trap videos of wild okapi

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Epulu, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 21 September 2024
13. SOUNDBITE (French) Aime Vusike Kiruzi, Director General for Epulu Radio:
"We are no longer seeing some species that used to be well protected here. In our time, we’ve seen protected species such as okapi, elephants, antelopes. We even saw monkeys. But it is no longer easy to see them.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Epulu, Democratic Republic of the Congo – 22 September 2024
14. A bridge leading into Epulu village

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Muchacha mine, Democratic Republic of the Congo – September 2022
15. Various aerial shots over the Muchacha mine
STORYLINE:
A UN heritage-protected wildlife reserve in Congo is under threat from a Chinese gold mining company.

For eight years, Kimia Mining, a Chinese mining company, has been vastly expanding inside an endangered World Heritage Site, and is being accused by locals and conservationists of decimating the environment.

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve became a protected site in 1996. 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.

Spanning more than 13,000 square kilometers (5,000 square miles), the reserve became a protected site due to its unique biodiversity and large number of threatened species, including its namesake, the okapi. The okapi is a forest giraffe of which the Okapi Wildlife Reserve holds some 15% of the world’s remaining 30,000.

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