{"id":61663,"date":"2026-09-18T07:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T07:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/?p=61663"},"modified":"2026-09-18T15:29:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T15:29:57","slug":"ahead-of-un-general-assembly-president-tshisekedi-urged-to-halt-expansion-of-extractive-projects-in-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/press\/61663\/ahead-of-un-general-assembly-president-tshisekedi-urged-to-halt-expansion-of-extractive-projects-in-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor\/","title":{"rendered":"Ahead of UN General Assembly President Tshisekedi urged to halt expansion of extractive projects in Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kinshasa, 18 September 2026<\/strong> \u2013 Greenpeace Africa and its partners released an open letter<\/a> addressed to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), His Excellency F\u00e9lix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, calling on him to take concrete action to safeguard the integrity of the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor (KKGC) from the expansion of new oil, gas and mining projects.<\/p>\n\n

The call comes ahead of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week NYC, as the DRC prepares once again to present itself on the international stage as a \u201cSolution Country\u201d in addressing global climate and environmental challenges. This ambition must now be matched by greater consistency between the country\u2019s international commitments and decisions taken at national level.<\/p>\n\n

Created by Decree No. 25\/01 of 15 January. 2025, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor is one of the DRC\u2019s flagship conservation and sustainable development initiatives. However, an analysis published by Greenpeace Africa in July 2026 highlighted significant overlaps between the Corridor\u2019s conservation objectives and extractive activities.<\/p>\n\n

According to the analysis, mining permits cover 12.3 million hectares, representing 23% of the Green Corridor, directly putting 3.4 million hectares of protected areas at risk. In addition, 72% of the Green Corridor is covered by 28 oil blocks. This extractive pressure threatens sensitive ecosystems, including peatlands and primary forests, as well as community forests and the traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor cannot carry an ambition for conservation while remaining exposed to the expansion of new extractive projects. The DRC has a historic opportunity to demonstrate that its international climate leadership is also reflected in strong decisions at home. Protecting the Green Corridor means protecting our forests, peatlands, biodiversity and the rights of the communities that depend on them.\u201d <\/strong>said Professor Georges Milumbu, Country Director, Greenpeace Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

From international ambition to national action<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Greenpeace Africa and its partners are calling on President Tshisekedi to establish a moratorium on new oil, gas and mining projects within the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor.<\/p>\n\n

The organisation is also calling for extractive activities to be excluded from primary forests, peatlands, protected areas, community lands and the traditional territories of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Greenpeace Africa further calls for inclusive governance of the Corridor that guarantees the effective participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, respects their land rights and upholds their free, prior and informed consent. Finally, it calls for consistency between the DRC\u2019s conservation policies, climate and biodiversity commitments, and decisions concerning the use of natural resources.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThis is not about questioning the ambition behind the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor. On the contrary, it is about giving an initiative of this importance the credibility and consistency it deserves. The Green Corridor can become a global symbol of the DRC\u2019s environmental leadership, but its purpose must be protected from contradictions that could undermine it.\u201d <\/strong>added Toussaint Molenge, Congo Basin Forest and Biodiversity Lead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

As world leaders gather for major international events this September, Greenpeace Africa and its partners are calling on President Tshisekedi to send a clear political message: the vision of the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor is not compatible with the expansion of new extractive projects.<\/p>\n\n

**ENDS**<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Notes to Editors:<\/strong>
<\/strong> The Greenpeace Africa open letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is dated 18 September 2026. It follows a policy brief published by Greenpeace Africa in July 2026, which raised concerns about governance challenges and overlapping rights and land uses within the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor.<\/p>\n\n

Media Contact:<\/strong>

Raphael Mavambu, Communication & Storytelling Manager, rmavambu@greenpeace.org<\/a>, Greenpeace Africa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greenpeace Africa and its partners released an open letter addressed to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), His Excellency F\u00e9lix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, calling on him to take concrete action to safeguard the integrity of the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor (KKGC) from the expansion of new oil, gas and mining projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":61405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_seo_meta_title":"","p4_seo_meta_description":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[46,24,47],"p4-page-type":[14],"class_list":["post-61663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-protecttheenvironment","tag-greenpeaceafrica","tag-forests","tag-drc","p4-page-type-press"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61663"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61672,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61663\/revisions\/61672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61663"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=61663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}