Nadège Nzoyem, WWF’s regional director for the Congo Basin, has made her position clear on extractive activities inside areas governments have pledged to conserve. “Protected areas are protected areas,” she stated, underscoring that mining operations have no legitimate role in landscapes set aside for biodiversity protection. The remarks come as new data reveal extensive overlaps between industrial concessions and conserved zones across tropical regions, including the Congo Basin. A recent analysis from Earth Insight documents the scale of these conflicts, while the upcoming biodiversity COP17 in Armenia will test whether global targets can translate into real safeguards on the ground. ([1])
Why the Overlaps Matter Now
Governments across the Congo Basin have committed to expanding protected areas as part of international conservation goals. Yet the Earth Insight findings show that oil and gas blocks already cover nearly 62 million hectares of protected and conserved lands in examined tropical countries, with mining concessions adding another 43 million hectares. In the Congo Basin specifically, 29 percent of identified terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas still lack formal protection. These figures highlight a gap between policy pledges and on-the-ground reality that affects both wildlife and the communities who depend on intact forests. The practical consequence is straightforward: once mining or drilling begins inside or adjacent to reserves, reversing the damage becomes difficult. Roads, equipment, and waste can fragment habitats and pollute waterways, undermining the very purpose of the protected designation. Stakeholders ranging from national governments to Indigenous groups and international conservation organizations now face pressure to reconcile economic development plans with enforcement of existing boundaries.
Wildlife Trends Add Urgency
Separate data from WWF’s Living Planet Report 2026 show an average 80 percent decline in monitored wildlife population sizes across Africa between 1970 and 2022. While the statistic covers the continent rather than the Congo Basin alone, it reflects the cumulative impact of habitat loss, including pressures from extractive industries. Species that rely on large, connected forest blocks are especially vulnerable when concessions fragment those landscapes. The report’s findings arrive at a moment when the global 30×30 target – conserving 30 percent of land and waters by 2030 – requires more than lines on a map. Effective management, equitable governance, and recognition of Indigenous and local community rights are essential if the target is to deliver measurable biodiversity gains rather than paper parks.
Ground-Level Examples of Conflict
One documented case involves semi-industrial mining at Muchacha along the Ituri River in the southwestern sector of Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Operations there have led to deforestation and contamination of water sources, illustrating how even designated reserves can face encroachment when oversight is limited. Such incidents demonstrate the enforcement challenges Nzoyem and other conservation leaders have identified across the region. Local communities often bear the direct costs through reduced access to clean water and forest resources, while governments must balance revenue from mining against long-term ecological and social liabilities. The tension is not abstract; it plays out in specific river systems and forest patches where industrial activity intersects with conservation commitments.
What Matters Now
The global community will gather next week at COP17 in Armenia to assess progress toward the 30×30 target. Success will depend on whether countries move beyond boundary designations to address overlapping concessions, strengthen monitoring, and ensure that protected areas remain off-limits to mining and oil development.
Nzoyem’s stance reflects a broader view that conservation areas lose meaning if extractive industries are permitted inside them. Meeting that standard requires coordinated action among governments, companies, and civil society in the months and years ahead. The coming conference offers one opportunity to translate those principles into clearer rules and stronger accountability mechanisms.
