Along the banks of the Ituri River, cranes transport dirt. Construction debris litters the soil. Occasional trees hint that a forest once grew there. A gold mine is rapidly intruding into a wildlife reserve in eastern Congo’s Ituri province. Many say the mine shouldn’t be there at all.
In 1996, Okapi Wildlife Reserve became a protected site due to its unique variety of life and large number of threatened species. Those God-created animals include the reserve’s namesake, the okapi, a relative of the giraffe. Okapi is part of the large Congo Basin rainforest. Gold and diamonds lie buried there.
Okapi is an endangered World Heritage site. For eight years, a Chinese mining company has been expanding inside the reserve. Locals and conservationists accuse mine owners of destroying the environment.
Three decades ago, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government established the original boundaries of the reserve. The country’s mining code forbids mining in protected areas, including the reserve.
But over the years, the boundaries somehow shrank. The Chinese company began working inside the forest.
Issa Aboubacar is a spokesperson for the Chinese company, Kimia Mining Investment. He insists the group is operating legally. Records reveal it recently renewed its permits until 2048.
Congo’s mining registry says the map it uses came from files from the ICCN, the body that manages Congo’s protected areas. Rights groups in Congo have long called on the government to revoke Chinese permits. They say the mining ministry illegally awarded them based on incorrect maps.
An internal government memo says all companies in Okapi will close down, including Kimia Mining. But it’s unclear when and how that will happen.
Joel Masselink specializes in satellite imagery. He says the mining registry is using a shrunken version of the reserve’s maps. He says the smaller version has allowed the registry to award and renew flawed mining permits.
Some groups in Congo have accused officials of purposely moving the boundaries for personal gain.
Nearly two dozen residents, as well as former and current Kimia Mining employees, say mining is destroying the forests and wildlife and polluting water and land. Employees and mining experts say the Chinese company uses mercury, a toxic chemical, to separate gold from ore.
Government agencies say from January to May last year, the reserve lost more than 1,186 acres of forest cover—an area the size of nearly 900 American football fields.
“Congo’s law clearly states that mining is illegal in protected areas,” says Emma Stokes of The Wildlife Conservation Society. But, she adds, “If a mine is operating with an official permit, then that creates confusion.”
The Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. — Psalm 24:1
