Crisis Point

New Research Shows Massive Threats to Amazon and Congo Tropical Forests From Global Oil and Gas Expansion

An Area Six Times the Size of the UK Threatened and Tens of Millions of Indigenous and Local Community Members at Risk  

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Oil pollution in Ogoniland, Niger Delta
Oil pollution in Ogoniland, Niger Delta. Image credit: Marten van Dijl, Milieudefensie via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Executive Summary

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This report offers a close-up look at the threats that oil and gas expansion poses to forests, Indigenous and local communities and biodiversity in the world’s two largest tropical forest regions. It also uplifts critical global solutions.

Time is running out and bold action is required to address the scale of the challenge we face. An immediate end to oil and gas expansion and a moratorium on industrial activity in primary and priority forests and ecosystems is essential.

There is still time for African nations and the international community to chart a different path that advances economic well-being while protecting critical forests and the communities that depend on them.

Francois BILKO quote

Key Findings: Amazon and Congo Rainforests Facing Massive Threats from Oil and Gas Expansion

  • Over 135 million hectares of undisturbed tropical forest (an area approximately six times the size of the United Kingdom) overlaps with oil and gas blocks already in production or designated for future drilling in the Amazon and Congo.  
  • More than 20% of the total population in these regions or more than 44 million people (inclusive of Indigenous and local communities) now dwell in oil and gas blocks.
  • More than 26,000 populated places (villages, towns, cities, etc.) overlap with oil and gas blocks in these key tropical forest regions.
  • More than 25 million hectares of indigenous territories (in the Amazon) overlap with oil and gas blocks.
Note: These estimated figures are generally within +-5% of accuracy

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Amazon

Congo

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*Note that this report includes key research and findings from the Congo in the Crosshairs report co-published with Rainforest Foundation UK and released at COP 27