The “worst place in the world” to explore for oil is open for business. Again. Swathes of the Congo basin rainforest, home to okapis, lowland gorillas, bonobos and other rare wildlife, are being auctioned off by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for the second time in three years.
This round of licensing includes 52 blocks across 124m hectares (306m acres) of swamps and rainforest in some of the best-preserved tropical ecosystems left on Earth. Opening it up for fossil fuel extraction could be a disaster for nature and the climate.
