2023-11-13 23:21:18
The National Oil Company of Congo (SNPC) announced, on the occasion of the last summit on the three major forest basins of the world, its project to plant 50,000 hectares of acacias over ten years. The initiative is part of the national afforestation and reforestation program but some NGOs are skeptical.
From our correspondent in Brazzaville,
Called “Eco Zamba” or eco of the forest, the SNPC project will take place in the savannah zone of the Plateaux in central Congo. A project launched at the call of the Congolese president for the decade of afforestation. The Director General of the SNPC, Maixent Raoul Ominga, gives here the main objective. “We are an oil company. Today, on issues concerning environmental protection, I think that we are on the front line because of the impact of our activities on the environment. It was up to us, to somewhat repair the impact of our activities on the environment, to initiate this project which, in reality, compensates for the emissions from our activities.“, he explains.
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This reforestation project should not only allow carbon sequestration but also accelerate soil regeneration. “National forest cover should be increased to optimize the carbon sequestration capacities of our forests. And then, provide a natural solution to climate change», Appreciates François Mankessi, national coordinator of the national afforestation and reforestation program. On a socio-economic level, François Mankessi sees other advantages: “For the Congo, what do we gain? We are gaining in terms of jobs. A society that is established will naturally have a social component, a local development component and an employment component for the population. And, it will reduce unemployment in our country“, he believes.
SNPC will be the second oil company to develop a carbon sequestration project in the plateaus, following TotalEnergies. But this race towards savannah zones leaves Maixent Agnimba Emeka, the coordinator of the Forum for Governance and Human Rights (FGDH), perplexed. He thinks that these companies are launching to profit from carbon credits. “Oil companies are not in the business of reforestation. Their vocation is to produce and market oil. They are launching into a sector that is not theirs. It’s out of simple opportunism. But, environmentally, we are losing our savannah ecosystem. And, you have animals, birds and insects that can only thrive in savannah areas. We haven’t done enough studies on it», he denounces. The Eco Zamba project is planned for ten years. The cost of financing it has not been revealed.
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