The consequences of oil exploitation for the position of Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List.

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Interdisciplinary Project

IIId: Final version report

The consequences of oil exploitation for the position of

Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List.

Date: 22-05-2016

By:

Bartjan van Agten - Political Scientist- 10683011

Bas de Nijs - Ecologist - 10592148

Louwrens Timmer - Earth Scientist - 10668470

Stijn Vredevoort - Earth Scientist - 10640592

Expert Supervisor: A.J. Gilbert

Tutor: J.V. Rothuizen

Word count: 7142

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Abstract

The purpose of this interdisciplinary research was to investigate the effect of oil exploitation on the World Heritage Status of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Combined knowledge from the fields of political science, earth sciences and ecology, provided the tools to successfully assess Virunga National Park’s World Heritage Status in consideration of oil exploitation in the area. Oil exploitation has the potential to severely damage on site ecosystems through infrastructure intensification, which is in contradiction with the criteria for inscription on the World Heritage List. However, ArcGIS and Google Earth maps show that the area required for oil exploitation is too small to significantly alter the Park’s properties that are required for World Heritage Status. Furthermore, similar case studies show that removal from the World Heritage List seldomly occurs, even if the area in question is opened up to exploitation of natural resources. Therefore, removal from the World Heritage List because of oil exploitation is highly unlikely.

List of abbreviations

DRC: Democratic Republic of Congo VNP: Virunga National Park

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WHL: World Heritage List

NGO: Non-governmental organization

WWF World Wildlife Fund

WRI: World Resource Institute

EROS: United States Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center GIS: Geographical Information System

KNP: Kakadu National Park

ICCN: Institut Congolais pour le Conservation de la Nature FADRC: Forces Armées de la Democratic Republic du Congo

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Introduction

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country that can be considered as extremely rich in mineral resources such as gold, diamonds, coltan as well as oil and gas (Shekhawat, 2009). Le Billon (2001) states that this mineral wealth is one of the driving forces for conflict and exploitation of the minerals can be a source for funding the conflict. The DRC is located in central Africa, an area that contains the second largest tropical forest in the world. Approximately 50% of this forest is located in the DRC (Potapov et al., 2012). There are various national parks in the DRC, that contain vast parts of the humid forests. One of these parks is Virunga National Park (VNP), which is located in the eastern part of the country. VNP covers around 800.000 hectares and contains volcanoes, wetlands, rainforest, savannah, mountains and woodland (Sjöstedt, 2013). The park is highly biodiverse and was therefore added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage List (WHL) in 1979 (Sjöstedt, 2013). Vast populations of Africa's largest mammals live in the park, including the critically endangered mountain gorilla (Beringei beringei) (Gray et al., 2013). Another reason for adding the park to the WHL was its extraordinary beauty. VNP is threatened by exploitation of resources, which may have severe consequences for the ecosystems in the park and the position of VNP on the WHL.

Oil exploitation

A research conducted by Osti et al. (2011) indicated that over twenty percent of oil concessions in Sub-saharan Africa are located within the borders of world heritage sites. This is also the case in VNP, where a British company called SOCO International conducted seismologic research and concluded that oil is stored within the borders of the park. SOCO International made concrete plans to extract the oil but withdrew after pressure from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The WWF stated that oil leaks could be disastrous for local human and fish populations, especially because lake Edward, which is located in the concession area, is one of the feeding water bodies for the Nile river (Coghlan, 2014). In 1994 VNP was added to the World Heritage List in Danger because of multiplication of the human population in the park, failure to protect the park, increased poaching and forest depletion through logging (UNESCO, 2016-1). In this research it will be analysed how potential oil extraction in VNP would alter the existing ecosystems in the park and what these alterations indicate for the park’s position on the WHL. UNESCO (2016-2) states that oil extraction is incompatible with world heritage and therefore there is a tension between resources and natural capital; this study analyses this tension through an interdisciplinary research.

Interdisciplinary research

In order to investigate if VNP can still meet the criteria for the WHL after oil exploitation an interdisciplinary research was conducted, combining knowledge from earth sciences, political science and ecology. Alterations in the ecosystem, due to oil exploitation, were assessed and these alterations were used to indicate the consequences for the position of VNP on the WHL. In the remainder of this report the methods and research questions will be introduced in the research approach and subsequently these research questions will be addressed. Finally the consequences of the exploitation for VNP’s position on the WHL will be described, followed by a discussion section and the conclusion. In the discussion section some important questions will be raised concerning the WHL, for example: Who benefits from being on the WHL and should the DRC

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be compensated for not exploiting resources within the borders of the park? Addressing such questions contributes to understanding the situation for the DRC.

Research approach

Contemporary problems, which require scientific research, are becoming more complex because of technological development and globalization (Rutting et al., 2014). These ‘complex’ problems need an integrated approach as opposed to the traditional single discipline concepts (Rutting et al., 2014). Consequently, an interdisciplinary research is required to deal with complex questions and problems (Rutting et al., 2014). In an interdisciplinary research it is important that the problem is tackled between disciplines (Rutting et al., 2014).

This research also requires an interdisciplinary approach considering the complexity of our problem. The research is complex and needs an interdisciplinary approach because the relation between nature and society is complex (Rutting et al., 2014). Furthermore, nowadays there is an expectation that scientists and their research will be partly responsible for resolving societal issues similar to the situation concerning VNP. These two drivers of interdisciplinary research are applicable in this case. The research question could not be answered if there was no interdisciplinarity. The effect of oil exploitation on infrastructure and the ecosystem could not be determined if an ecologist and an earth scientist did not cooperate. The same applies for the political scientist, who needs to translate the findings into political choices.

Research questions

In order to investigate whether VNP can still meet the criteria for the WHL after and during oil exploration research (sub-)questions were designed. In this section the research questions are stated and the methods that were used to answer these question are described. The main research question was stated as follows: How will potential oil exploration influence the position of Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List? In order to obtain adequate answers to this question, the following research sub-questions were designed:

1. How much oil is available for extraction in Virunga National Park?

2. How will the infrastructure and ecosystem be affected by oil exploitation in Virunga National Park?

3. How does Virunga National Park fulfill the criteria for the UNESCO World Heritage List?

4. How will the position of Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List be affected? Methodology

The first research sub-question has to be answered in order to understand the possible profits of oil exploitation. The motivation and willingness to exploit the oil depend on the amount of oil stored and therefore it gives an indication of the probability of oil exploitation in the park. A literature study was conducted to provide adequate knowledge concerning oil quantity in the research area. The study consisted of analyzing peer reviewed articles as well as newspaper and internet publications. At first some difficulties were encountered whilst finding the required information. However, using data that was collected in Uganda contributed to answering the question.

The second question has to be addressed in order to see whether VNP will still meet the criteria for the WHL after being subjected to oil exploitation. This was done by designing a scenario. In the scenario oil exploitation did occur and subsequently it was investigated how this will alter the infrastructure and the ecosystems in VNP. To give an overview of the situation in

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the park, maps were made of the vegetation, elevation and infrastructure of the park, as well as a map showing satellite imagery. Spatial data of the DRC, including vegetation, hydrography, conservation and infrastructure maps, was acquired from the World Resources Institute (WRI) (2013). Furthermore, satellite imagery from Google Earth and a digital elevation model, created by the United States Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Data Center (2010), were used to conduct the spatial analysis. Four maps were produced using the data and these will contribute to understanding infrastructural changes required by oil exploitation, which helped to assess changes in the ecosystems. These maps were produced using and Google Earth Pro and Geographical Information System (GIS) software. In Google Earth Pro the wideness of roads in the park was analyzed, using the ruler tool. Subsequently, similar case studies provided the knowledge to analyse ecosystem alterations, resulting from oil exploitation.

The third question was also assessed after conducting a literature study. Understanding the criteria for admittance to the WHL is necessary to draw conclusions about the influence of oil exploitation on VNP’s position on the list. Most of the information that was used to answer this question was published by UNESCO. To fully comprehend the criteria, it was necessary to take the world heritage committee and different stakeholders in the organization into consideration.

The final sub-question was needed to see if oil exploitation can cause exclusion of VNP from the WHL. A comparable case, concerning Kakadu National Park (KNP), was investigated through literature study and relationships between the criteria for the WHL and ecosystem alterations were described. The question will be addressed in the Consequences chapter. The remainder of the research comprises an extensive discussion section where relevant suggestions for further research are made and a section in which conclusions of the research are stated.

Extent of oil reserves

In order to investigate the tension between oil exploitation and world heritage status it is important to indicate the extent of the oil located underneath the park. An economic value can be added to this extent, which gives an insight into the attractiveness of oil exploitation. The goal of this chapter is to provide a quantitative answer to the following research question: How much oil is available for extraction in Virunga National Park?

The Virunga National Park is the oldest national park of the African continent and is located in the eastern part of the DRC, on the border with Uganda. The Park is situated on the Albertine Graben rift basin, which was formed during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic eras (Lirong et al., 2004). This geological formation covers an area of 25.000 km2 with a length of 570 km and an average width of 45 km (Figure 1) (Lirong et al., 2004). The basement of the graben predominantly constitutes of metamorphic and intrusive rocks, which are not suitable for oil and gas exploration (Lirong et al., 2004). The sedimentary layers of this rift basin show hydrocarbon bearing formations, which is interesting as it is an indication for oil or gas (Lirong et al., 2004; Martini et al., 2013; Vokes, 2012). These layers show potential of oil and gas exploration. Seismological research proved that there is oil and gas stored in the Albertine Graben (Sanjay, 2011). The Albertine rift is divided into five research blocks and all segments have been studied by several oil companies for oil and gas extraction. Block 4B covers an area of 2021 km2_{and is relevant for}

this research because it largely lies in VNP (Sanjay, 2011). Dominion, a British oil company, has acquired 2D seismic data in Block 4B in 2008 (Anderson & Browne, 2011). With the acquired data Dominion identified four prospects in Block 4B, which indicate locations for ready-to-drill wells (Sanjay, 2011). The first exploratory well Ngaji-1 was actually drilled close to the Park’s border on June 21, 2010 (Sanjay, 2011). Dominion estimates that there is a resource potential of

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378 million barrels of oil in this segment and intends to do more research in the area around Lake Edward (Sanjay, 2011). The price of one barrel of oil in may 2016 is approximately 44 United States Dollars (NASDAQ, 2016), which means that the economic value of the oil nowadays exceeds 16 billion United States Dollars. However, the price of oil fluctuates throughout the year.

Figure 1. Albertine Graben rift basin divided in the explorative areas (Vokes, 2012)

Oil exploitation and ecosystem characteristics

Extracting oil could have major effects on the wildlife and ecosystem of VNP. According to a study conducted by Burgess et al. (2007) human activity and human population have an negative impact on the surrounding biodiversity. Oil and gas extraction will instigate an expansion of local infrastructure and human population density. Exploiting the area will therefore have severe consequences for the flora and fauna in VNP.

Since 1996, the ark has already been disturbed by several armed conflicts which had severe impacts on the wildlife (Sjöstedt, 2013). In a study conducted by Plumptre et al. (2007) mammalian, bird, reptile, amphibian and plant species were counted, including number of endemic species and number of threatened species (see Table 1). The large mammals living on the savanna in the central/eastern and northern part of VNP are declining rapidly (Plumptre & Kujirakwinja et al., 2007). The rapid decrease was caused by civil wars in both Uganda and the DRC, which led to excessive poaching (Plumptre & Kujirakwinja et al., 2007). In the research of Plumptre & Kujirakwinja et al. (2007) the large mammals of the Greater Virunga Landscape were observed from aerial surveys, which include elephants, buffalo, hippo, topi, waterbuck and

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Uganda kob and their total was estimated at 155.470 in 1960. The same aerial surveys were conducted in 2003 and the total number of mammals was estimated at 36.280 (Plumptre & Kujirakwinja et al., 2007). The large mammals of VNP are not the only animal threatened by poachers. The endangered mountain gorilla lives in the Virunga Volcanoes southern part of VNP (Gray et al., 2010). This area of the park is not included in sector 4B were oil was discovered. However, the mountain gorilla is still critically endangered by loss of habitat, poachers and they are exposed to the armed conflicts in the Park (Sjöstedt, 2013; Plumptre & Kujirakwinja et al., 2007). Furthermore, one of the hotspots for oil exploration is located under Lake Edward. Therefore, an oil leak would be a catastrophe for the aquatic habitat in Lake Edward. So far 65 endemic species were observed in the lake (Plumptre et al., 2007). Such an oil spill could lead to extinction of some native species.

The ecosystems of VNP constitute of exceptional natural beauty, such as the volcanoes mountains in the south or the vast wetlands in the central part of the Park. It’s habitat provides shelter for more than 36.000 mammals and other animals species. Some are endemic species of the Albertine Graben rift. However, the nature and animals of VNP are threatened by habitat loss, poachers, armed conflicts and potential oil exploitation. Since the Park is on the WHL there is a plan to protect the Park from these threats.

Species Species no. Endemic species Threatened species

Mammals 196 21 13

Birds 706 27 11

Reptiles 109 11 0

Amphibians 65 16 10

Plants 2077 264 230

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Oil exploitation scenario

In the previous paragraph the ecosystem is described and as mentioned oil exploitation might cause major changes to the ecosystem. Oil concessions are still existing in the area and to assess the impact of potential oil exploitation the following question has to be adressed: How will the infrastructure and ecosystem be affected by oil exploitation in Virunga National Park? Alterations in infrastructure will cause changes throughout the park and therefore it is important to understand the dynamics and relationships within the ecosystem. According to the extended theory of cognitive fit (Dennis & Carte, 1998), which elaborates on the theory of cognitive fit by Vessey (1991), the problem of understanding the ecosystem relations within a geographical area is considered as an adjacency task. In order to solve such a task it can be very useful to present maps that contribute to understanding spatial changes (Dennis & Carte, 1998). Spatial data was analyzed and maps were made using the software programs ArcGIS and Google Earth pro in order to clarify the impact of oil exploitation on the ecosystem in VNP. Using the data in these maps the consequences of infrastructural changes, that occur when oil is exploited, are

investigated.

Figure 4 : Map 1-4 of VNP created with ArcGIS and Google Earth Pro. Detailed illustrations of the maps are included as appendices I to IV.

The four maps are illustrated in figure 4. It is not possible to read the legends in the figure and therefore a more detailed illustration of each map is included in appendices I to IV. The first three maps were made using ArcGIS and the fourth map was created with Google Earth Pro. Map 1 (Appendix I) indicates the elevation levels in VNP and its surroundings. The map illustrates major height differences within the borders of the park with mountainous areas in the south and north-east of the park and more flat areas around lake Edward. Building oil infrastructure such as roads and drilling sites will be cheaper and more easy in regions with minimal relief. Such areas near Lake Edward are located in the Albertine graben (figure 1), where oil is suspected to be (Vokes, 2012) and therefore drilling sites will most likely be located in these areas. Across the border in Uganda the first test drill, known as the Ngaji-1 well was also located just south of Lake Edward, within 30 kilometers of the DRC.

Assuming that oil exploitation will be conducted inside the Albertine graben, the infrastructural changes of oil exploitation have to be assessed. Kathman & Shannon (2011) state

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that major infrastructural alterations are necessary to extract oil and that a large number of citizens will have to move to the Albertine graben in order to conduct the oil exploitation. In African countries often complete small villages are built to provide accommodation for employees of the oil company. Furthermore pipelines roads and drilling installations are required. Map 2, the vegetation map (Appendix II), indicates that within the Albertine graben the vegetation is less dense compared to the mountainous regions of VNP. The area south of Lake Edward is dominated by grasslands, savannah, cropland and small areas of rainforest. Large populations of animal species, including elephants, hippopotamuses, buffalos and topis are abundant in these areas (Plumptre & Kujirakwinja et al., 2007). The critically endangered mountain gorillas do not live in these areas, they are located in the southern mountainous regions of VNP (Gray et al., 2010) . Map 3 (Appendix III) illustrates the current infrastructure in VNP. The map indicates that some roads cross the park and that the village of Vitshumbi, home to approximately 20.000 residents, is located in VNP. The main national road through the park is the N2, which runs from east to west south of lake Edward and is clearly visible on the third map. Studying satellite imagery reveals that the road is only 5 meters wide at the point where it crosses a river. Once oil exploitation will be conducted traffic will increase significantly and therefore roads have to be widened, causing even more traffic and possible habitat fragmentation. The local road that runs from the N2 to the village of Vitshumbi will probably be used frequently once oil exploitation occurs, because the road runs through the Albertine graben. The road is not paved and will have to be extended in a major way once oil is exploited. The oil that is brought to the surface will be transported by pipelines and large trucks that need wide roads. Besides the widening and intensification of roads; pipelines and drilling sites have to be constructed, causing even more infrastructural changes. Studying spatial data and satellite imagery has helped to understand where oil exploitation will occur and how this influences infrastructure in the park. As savannah and tropical forest are the dominating ecosystem types in the discussed area, the effect of infrastructure intensification on these ecosystem types will be assessed in the following paragraph.

Infrastructure intensification in tropical forest ecosystems

Road intensification causes direct degradation of adjacent tropical forest ecosystems (Laurance, 2009). Many ecological specialists, species specialized in one type of environment, avoid open spaces. By building roads the habitats of numerous species are significantly fragmented. Amphibians, reptiles and birds that dare to make the crossing, can be the victim of roadkill (Laurance, 2009). However, Forman & Alexander (1998) claim that road avoidance has the greatest ecological impact. A decline in population density and species richness can occur up to 200 m from the road, which implies that ecosystem degradation caused by road intensification has the potential to affect an area significantly larger than the area required for the actual building of the road (Forman, 1998).

Furthermore, Laurance (1990) sets forth that edge effect causes ecosystem degradation not only in the deforested areas but all along the edges of the roads up to 100 m forest inward. Edge effect can impact the environmental factors that influence the stable state transition from tropical forest to savannah (Laurance, 1990). If an ecosystem is severely perturbed it can lose its functionality and shift to an alternative stable state, for tropical forests this alternative stable state is the savannah ecosystem (Murphy, 2012). The abrupt loss of forest due to road building causes the functioning equilibrium of the forests next to the recently built road to fluctuate strongly (Laurance, 1990).

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Infrastructure intensification in savannah ecosystems

While savannah ecosystems offer a more suitable environment for the construction of roads than tropical forest ecosystems, the ecological impact can be similarly severe (Andrews, 1990). Frequently travelled roads are avoided by many mammalian and even several bird species (Forman, 1998). As a consequence, populations will become separated and isolated. Forman (1998) calls this creation of metapopulation ‘the barrier effect’ and it increases the likelihood of extinction. Furthermore, implementing a barrier such as a road causes habitat fragmentation. Especially for large mammals, which generally have a wide foraging range, habitat fragmentation can be significantly detrimental to their chances of survival (Forman, 1998).

In addition, infrastructure intensification also opens up both savannah and tropical forest ecosystems to poachers and settlers, disturbing the ecosystems even further. Inaccessibility is the most effective protective property of contemporary ecosystems. Opening up these ecosystems to human populations will result in a loss of natural capital (Laurance, 2009). As discussed in the introductory paragraph in this chapter, oil exploitation requires infrastructure intensification and this will increase the accessibility of VNP. In the next chapter VNP’s fulfillment of the WHL criteria will be discussed in relation to the previously analysed ecosystem alterations.

World Heritage List

To understand consequences of oil exploitation for the position on the WHL, it is important to know how the world heritage committee operates. Since 1979 VNP is on the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage List (Sjöstedt, 2013). In this section the following question will be answered: How does Virunga National Park fulfill the criteria for the UNESCO World Heritage List? However, for a better understanding of the WHL, first an overview will be provided on how the list is compiled. Subsequently, the question will be answered by analyzing the correlations between the WHL (in Danger) and the case of VNP.

The WHL is compiled by three different bodies: the State Parties, the three Advisory Boards and the Committee. The State Parties are the countries who have signed the World Heritage Convention and therefore agreed to several commitments. Currently, the convention is signed by 191 countries. One of the duties of the State Parties is to identify and nominate properties on their national territory for potential inscription on the list. When nominating a property, the concerned country must provide insight of how the property is protected and present a management plan for its upkeep. The State Parties are also expected to protect the World Heritage values of the inscribed sites and are stimulated to report periodically on their condition. The Advisory Boards evaluate the proposed heritage sites and provide expert advice on how to conserve listed properties. In addition, the International Council on Museums and Sites gives advice over cultural sites, the International Union for Conservation of Nature over natural sites and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property is specialized in restoration of cultural sites. The Advisory bodies give their insights to the Committee, which is the final decisive body. The World Heritage Committee meets once a year and consists of representatives from 21 State Parties. Elected by the General Assembly of members of the Convention, the representatives are chosen for terms of four or six years (Frey & Steiner, 2011; UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2015).

The 21 State Parties of the current Committee are the following: Angola, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, United Republic of Tanzania, Vietnam, Zimbabwe (UNESCO World Heritage Centre (A), n.d.). The Committee is responsible

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for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, administering the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon request from State Parties. Furthermore, it makes the final decision of the inscription of properties on the WHL and by examining reports on the state of conservation of the inscribed heritage sites, it stimulates State Parties to take action when their properties are being managed inadequately. Finally, the committee takes decisions on the inscription or deletion of sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger (Frey & Steiner, 2011; UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2015).

Criteria

In order to be inscribed on the WHL, a property must comply with at least one of the ten criteria, formulated by the Convention and revised by the Committee. Six of the criteria are designed for cultural and four for natural sites (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2015). The four criteria designed for natural properties are:

“1. to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;

2. to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;

3. to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals.

4. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.” (Frey & Steiner, 2011: 556)

According to the World Heritage Committee, VNP complies on criteria 1, 2 and 4. The Committee argued that due to the park’s active chain of volcanoes and rich diversity of habitats the park is unique of its kind. Moreover, the wide variety of habitats produces a unique biodiversity comprising many endangered species, such as the famous mountain gorilla. Because of its diversity and rare nature, the park complies to more than one natural criteria. However, VNP is on the list of the World Heritage in Danger since 1994. This means that the Committee considers VNP’s position on the WHL to be uncertain (UNESCO, 2016).

World Heritage List in Danger

As described in the operational guidelines of the World Heritage Convention, a natural site can be placed on the WHL in Danger when the condition of a site corresponds with at least one of the criteria of either of the two cases below:

ASCERTAINED DANGER: The property is faced with specific and proven imminent danger, such as:

I) A serious decline in the population of the endangered species or the other species of Outstanding Universal Value for which the property was legally established to protect, either by natural factors such as disease or by human-made factors such as poaching. II) Severe deterioration of the natural beauty or scientific value of the property, as by human settlement, construction of reservoirs which flood important parts of the property, industrial and agricultural development including use of pesticides and fertilizers, major public works, mining, pollution, logging, firewood collection, etc.

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III) Human encroachment on boundaries or in upstream areas which threaten the integrity of the property.

POTENTIAL DANGER: The property is faced with major threats which could have deleterious effects on its inherent characteristics. Such threats are, for example:

I) a modification of the legal protective status of the area;

II) planned resettlement or development projects within the property or so situated that the impacts threaten the property;

III) outbreak or threat of armed conflict;

IV) the management plan or management system is lacking or inadequate, or not fully implemented.

V) threatening impacts of climatic, geological or other environmental factors.” (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2015: 40-41).

In the case of VNP, the park is threatened by both ascertained and potential dangers such as: civil unrest, political instability, war, illegal activities such as poaching by the army and rebellion, deforestation, livestock farming and the potential exploitation of oil and gas. Due to the presence of these factors VNP is still on the list of the WHL in Danger (UNESCO World Heritage Centre (B), n.d.) As mentioned before, as a State Party the DRC must present periodically a plan of upkeep to the World Heritage Committee. The most recent plan of upkeep for VNP is described in the next section.

Plan of upkeep

This were the actions planned in August 2014 and applied and analyzed in 2015. It seems that oil exploitation activities are on a hold in 2015. However, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has still valid permits for oil exploration in VNP. A new management plan for the Park is developed for the next five years (2016-2020). There are still some areas in the hands of armed groups and the government needs the regain control in these areas. For this research the report of February 1, 2016 was the most recent therefore the results were implemented in the report.

a) Cancel all granted oil exploration concessions in the Park

i) In 2015 there was no oil activity within the Park's boundaries.

b) Take all necessary measures in order to end the involvement of the Congolese army in the illegal exploitation of natural resources of the park, especially poaching, charcoal production and fishing

i) Institut Congolais pour le Conservation de la nature (ICCN), which does not practice illegal activities, patrols and practices military operations in the Park to control the Forces Armées de la Democratic Republic du Congo (FADRC). There was also a hotline established to report any illegal activities of the FADRC by SMS to the command post of Rumangabo.

c) Strengthen the efforts to disarm all armed groups operating in VNP.

i) There are two major military operations going on in the Park by the FADRC. The ICCN is not performing any military action they are consulting. The invaded areas still account for 11.1 % of the total Park area. However 29.6% (25.788 ha) of the rebel territory has been recovered in the past year.

d) Take action at the highest level to allow ICCN to continue with the peaceful evacuation of illegal occupants, without political interference.

i) 7000 cattle was replaced outside the Park's boundaries and 500 households were evacuated and resettled in 2015.

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e) To continue the enforce the law in priority areas and continue with the activities aimed to restore a system to govern fishing in Lake Edward.

i) In 2015 the priority areas (Mikeno, Lulimbi, Ishango, Tongo, Mabenga, Tshiabirimu) were controlled with succes. During the patrol 1475 people were arrested and only persistent offenders were brought to justice. Most of the arrestees were poachers (311) and fishermen (686) (ICCN, 2016).

f) Pursue actions to eliminate coal and wood production in the Park and promote sustainable energy sources such as hydroelectric plants outside the well.

i) One hydroelectric plant (13.8 MW) was built in the central part of the Park and two more are planned for 2016 with a total power of 35 MW (ICCN, 2016) Concludingly, with these actions and reports by the ICCN the government of the DRC tries to secure VNP’s position on the WHL. In the years between 1980 and 2015 approximately two million United States Dollars were donated by governmental organizations as well as NGOs to contribute to conservation of VNP (ICCN, 2016). Furthermore, if the DRC actually succeed in implementing all measurements of its plan of upkeep, VNP could be removed on the WHL in Danger. However, it remains quite questionable that this will happen. The structural problems in VNP and the whole country are extremely complex and if the highly unstable situation of the DRC does not change, VNP will hold it’s position on the WHL in Danger. The report of the ICCN, explicitly states that no oil activity was undertaken within the park, while concessions are still abundant.

Consequences

If the scenario described before becomes reality, there might be consequences for the position of VNP on the WHL. In order to assess these consequences a similar case was analyzed and statements of UNESCO were taken into consideration. These consequences are helpful to answer the following question: How will the oil exploitation influence the position of Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List? Furthermore it is necessary to investigate the procedure for removal to indicate whether removal of the WHL is likely.

The situation in VNP is not the first of its kind, all over the world are world heritage sites threatened by (potential) resource exploitation. The case of Kakadu National Park (KNP) located in the Northern Territory of Australia is an example of such a case. The KNP is unique because it is since 1981 on the WHL for both cultural and natural values. However the KNP is also threatened by natural resource exploitation, in this case by uranium mining. The park consists of a few major uranium deposits which are important drivers for the Australian economy. (Aplin, 2004) Australia possesses 24% of the global uranium storages and selling these resources is an important contribution to their economy (World Nuclear Organization, 2016). The exploitation of uranium in the KNP is, however, also quite controversial. That is because some indigenous people objected against the exploitation With the occurrence of several nuclear power disasters in recent times there is a widespread belief that nuclear power is a very dangerous source of energy. Furthermore, there is the potential danger of uranium mining itself. In fact there already have been more than 150 leaks, spills and license breaches at the uranium mines since its opening in 1981 in KNP. Furthermore, in 2009, 100.000 liters of contaminated water was leaching every day from the uranium mines into the groundwater beneath the KNP (Murdoch, 2009).

Mining in a world heritage list could be devastating to the park’s unique nature and culture. Therefore the park was almost listed on the list of World Heritage in Danger in 1998. However, after a research conducted by the World Heritage Committee it was observed that many world heritage areas experience mining and other exploitation activities. Furthermore, they

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concluded that the uranium problem was not urgent enough to take this measurement and therefore they respected the sovereignty of Australia. Though the committee keeps expressing their concerns about the mining activities. (Aplin, 2004)

In conclusion, this case shows that the mine activities by the Australian government in the KNP did not have any consequences for the position of the park on the WHL. In fact, the problem appeared not even urgent enough to put the park on the list of World Heritage in Danger.

UNESCO

As mentioned before, VNP was added to the WHL in Danger in 1994 (UNESCO, 2016-1). This happened due to increased poaching, forest depletion, instability and human population growth in the park. The site was however never removed from the WHL and yearly reports indicate that actions are undertaken and therefore removal has not happened. Removal only happened to two world heritage sites in the past, in Germany and Oman. The sites were removed for different reasons that are not comparable to oil exploitation in VNP. In Germany constructing a bridge in a Cultural site caused removal and in Oman a protected wildlife area was reduced by 90% and therefore UNESCO delisted the site from the WHL. UNESCO is paying more attention to resource extraction within world heritage sites since 2015 (UNESCO, 2016-2). In this article UNESCO states that in 2015 18% of all world heritage sites were affected by mining, oil and gas activities. Since 2005 the amount of sites affected by extractive industries has rapidly increased and this has caused concern for UNESCO. So far the organization did not remove any sites from the WHL, however some sites that are affected by mining activities have been added to the WHL in Danger (UNESCO, 2016-2). UNESCO states that oil exploitation is incompatible with world heritage status and that exploitation activities should not be undertaken within world heritage sites (UNESCO, 2016-2). It seems that oil exploitation will not directly influence the position of VNP on the WHL, because a lot world heritage sites are under pressure of mining activities and these were not removed from the WHL. UNESCO is however paying more attention to resource extraction since 2015 and this might cause a change of policy concerning site removal. The current procedure for removal is described below.

Procedure for site removal

A heritage site can be removed from the WHL in 2 cases:

- When the site has lost its characteristics which determined its inclusion in the list;

- When the unique qualities of a world heritage site were already threatened when at the time of inscription by human activities and where the necessary measurements as outlined by the concerned State Party at the time, have not been implemented within a certain time period.

It is the responsibility of the concerned State Party to inform the Secretariat of the World Heritage Committee when a heritage site on its territory is seriously deteriorated or certain measurements have not been implemented. If the Secretariat receives such information of another source that the concerned State Party it must verify the source. Furthermore, the Secretariat must request the relevant Advisory Bodies to forward comments on the received information. Eventually the Committee will examine all the available information a takes a decision by a majority of two-thirds of its members present and voting (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2015). In the case of VNP it is important to assess whether the site will keep the characteristics which determined its inclusion in the list when oil is exploited.

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Oil exploitation and World Heritage Status

Preserving tropical forests is a global concern due to the fact that they are the most important terrestrial contributor to atmospheric carbon sequestration (Lewis et al., 2009). However, the criteria drawn up by the World Heritage Committee do not take this property of VNP’s forests into account. The first two criteria clearly demonstrate the relevance of aesthetic and educational value for inscription on the WHL:

“1. to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;

2. to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;” (Frey & Steiner, 2011: 556).

In relation to the Virunga National Park, UNESCO (2016) states that the presence of tectonic and volcanic activity, montane landscapes and rift valleys is the reason that VNP meets the first two criteria. Oil exploitation in Virunga National Park will not alter these properties of the park, as it will happen on a small scale in the area described in the introductory paragraph of this chapter. The third criterion that was satisfied by VNP is more relevant in terms of the effect of oil exploitation:

“3. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation;” (Frey & Steiner, 2011: 556).

VNP’s attainment of the third criterion is caused by its extraordinary biodiversity and nourishment of endangered species (UNESCO, 2016). As stated in the two previous paragraphs, infrastructure intensification required by oil exploitation causes a decline in species richness and abundance, which is in contradiction with the third criterion.

After analysis of the ecological literature study, it can be concluded that VNP’s compliance with the first two criteria of the WHL will remain unaffected after potential oil exploitation. However, oil exploitation is in contradiction with the third criterion with which VNP complied. The site only has to comply to one criteria and therefore probably remains on the WHL. Being on the WHL however raises some fundamental questions. These questions will be discussed in the following section.

Discussion

Removal from the WHL does not occur frequently but it is still important to ask questions about world heritage status. For instance, who benefits from being on the WHL? Or how important is a place on such a list for a developing country? Certainly, there are some benefits, such as raising awareness for the protection of the park’s nature, the attraction of international aid donors and funding partners, stimulation of international tourism for both the park and the country, it could be seen as a great honor and it could show some ‘goodwill’ on the international political playfield. Although the country’s actual economic development will benefit most from an increase in tourism. In the case of the DRC, however, it seems quite questionable if the DRC actually receives these benefits. For instance, massive tourism is not an option due to their structural instability and violent conflicts which is the situation for decades already. From this perspective it seems only logical that the DRC wants to exploit the oil in order to stimulate their economy. So if the DRC is not benefiting from the WHL, who is then?

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One can state that the ‘global community’ benefits from the lists protection of VNP, because the western countries care about the park’s unique biodiversity and ecology. This raises the question: should the international community compensate the DRC if oil is not extracted? UNESCO has only a small fund of approximately four million dollars for compensating organizations that take care of world heritage sites (Frey & Steiner, 2011). So it can be argued that Western countries should compensate countries such as the DRC for not extracting the oil and nature conservation. Some countries such as Belgium and France are providing financial support for park conservation but this does not compare to the value of the oil stored within the borders of the park.

Another issue that must be considered is the fact that a part of Lake Edward, and thus the oil, is located in the DRC’s neighboring country: Uganda. This means that Uganda is able to exploit the oil as well and here occurs the first advancement situation where one who managed to be the first to exploit the oil can benefit the most. This means that even if the DRC does not exploit the oil, the park can be contaminated and loses her position on the WHL and in this case the DRC is the worst off. So in this situation the same question can be raised: should Uganda be compensated as well?

At last, questions can be asked about oil exploitation and the risks of violent conflicts. For example, is it actually safe to exploit the oil? The fact is that VNP is located in an extreme violent area with many conflicts between the government and rebellion. One of the main reasons why the violent conflicts in the DRC are structural is because the country is extremely rich in natural resources and many mines are in control of armed groups who uses these mines to facilitate their conflicts. This means that these rebellion can also become interested in the control over the oil platform. How can the government protect their oil platform? Previous have shown that the rebellion already entered the park several times and that their bases are located near the park as well. This discussion section shows that the choice to exploit the oil or not is not as simple as it may look like for out standers. Extended research should give this further consideration. During this research the following research question was assessed: How will potential oil exploration in Virunga National Park influence the position of Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List? In the following section conclusions are drawn regarding this question.

Conclusion

In this research an analysis has been made of how potential oil exploitation in VNP will influence the position of the park on the WHL. This park, located in the eastern part of the DRC, contains a large amount of oil in the middle of the park underneath Lake Edward. However, the park is also a world heritage site that was listed on the WHL in 1978. According to the World Heritage Committee, the park complies to three of the four natural criteria of the WHL: it consists of areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance, there are significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms and significant geomorphic features and it contains important natural habitats with biodiversity and a great variety of threatened species. For instance, the park is home to several active volcanoes and a great variety of endangered species such as the mountain gorillas.

In 2006, the government of the DRC has given concessions to exploit the oil in the park. Up to now, no oil is exploited yet, but when this happens it will have severe consequences on the park’s ecology. However, this does not mean that the whole park will suffer from oil exploitation. With the use of GIS maps and satellite imagery it was determined that most infrastructural changes will be conducted in the areas with less relief surrounding Lake Edward. Roads will be

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widened and pipelines and drilling sites will have to be constructed. Changes in the ecosystem here might however change the whole natural composition of the park and therefore influence biodiversity in a negative manner. Furthermore an oil leak would mean a huge disaster, because water contamination would kill a lot of threatened animals and influence the lives of the human population in a negative way.

The research question was stated as follows: How will potential oil exploration in Virunga National Park influence the position of Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List? It can be concluded that the first two criteria for a natural world heritage site can still be met by the park after oil exploitation. The third criteria can possibly not be met after oil exploitation due to shift in the ecosystem composition and loss of biodiversity. Meeting one of the criteria is enough for a spot on the WHL, this would indicate that the position of the park on the list is not threatened. UNESCO is however paying more attention to resource extraction and therefore removal of the list in the near future seems reasonable but not very likely, especially because the KNP was also not removed from the list even after severe water contamination. It has to be mentioned that removal seldom happens and thus it is likely that VNP will stay on the list for the coming years. This might also be caused by instability in the country and difficulties to assess impacts of exploitation due to the situation in the DRC.

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Appendices

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Appendix II: Vegetation map of Virunga National Park and surroundings.

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The consequences of oil exploitation for the position of Virunga National Park on the World Heritage List.

Interdisciplinary Project

IIId: Final version report