DRC: 24 NGOs sound the alarm over mining equipment encroaching on Upemba National Park

Twenty-four civil society organizations and environmental advocacy groups have sounded the alarm regarding the degradation of ecosystems in Upemba National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a letter addressed to the President of the Republic. The text, received on October 1, 2026, was made public on October 2, reports Radio Okapi.

The signatories denounce the "expansion of mining exploration and exploitation activities" inside the protected area and in certain peripheral zones. The park extends across the intersection of the Haut-Katanga, Lualaba, and Haut-Lomami provinces, at the heart of the most coveted mining belt on the continent.

Two sectors specifically named

According to the coalition, the Bena Mulumbu sector, classified as a strict nature reserve—the highest level of protection—is reportedly seeing the movement of heavy machinery, mining infrastructure, and both local and expatriate workers, with prospecting operations currently underway. In Kipafu, within the Lubudi-Sampwe hunting domain near Kyubo, the organizations report the presence of excavators and numerous artisanal miners.

The feared consequences concern the park's iconic species: zebras, savanna elephants, and buffaloes, as well as the grey crowned crane and the wattled crane, and several aquatic species, according to the same source.

An investigative mission requested

The 24 organizations are requesting the deployment of an investigative mission tasked with assessing the real impact of these activities on the environment and wildlife. Contacted by Radio Okapi, the park's communications officer replied that protection mechanisms already exist and cited the development and management plan intended to strengthen conservation.

The issue touches on a question that extends far beyond Upemba: the ability of an African state to enforce its own protected areas when the subsoil is worth more on global markets than the biodiversity covering it. The DRC provides a decisive share of the cobalt and copper upon which the global energy transition depends; the trade-offs are played out on its territory, but the value is often captured elsewhere.

No response from the Congolese presidency to the correspondence had been made public as of October 3, 2026.