Virunga National Park in the Congo DRC is Africa’s oldest national park and home to a quarter of the world’s mountain gorillas.
As the world celebrates Earth Day 2016 and international leaders are set to sign the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, we are thrilled to announce that new funding from CDC Group plc, the UK’s development finance institution, has been committed to help support the park’s continued work in increasing access to sustainable electricity.
Virunga National Park is paving the way for a thriving green economy in North Kivu, and this loan offers new potential for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to become a leading force for change, showing the huge benefits that can come from the sustainable development of natural resources.
The local communities who live and work in and around Virunga National park — numbering some four million people — have had almost no access to electricity. Whilst it’s estimated that around 15% of the DRC as a whole has access to electricity, in the wider Kivu area, this figure drops to just 3% electrification.
Virunga National Park, through its public-private partnership initiative Virunga Alliance, is committed to changing this for ordinary people by bringing safe, clean and affordable energy to communities all over the region. You may have already read about our work to develop two hydro-electric power plants.
CDC’s investment loan of up to $9 million will help to transform the lives of local people and businesses. In a region that is challenged by poor infrastructure and frequent political and social instability, this investment offers great hope for the future.
Emmanuel de Merode, Director of Virunga National Park, commented on the importance of this investment:
“Attracting investment finance into eastern Congo through a clean energy project has to be one of most exciting opportunities we have had as an organization. It’s a glimpse into the future of a green economy here in DRC, based on local resources protected by local people for local communities. We are delighted to be building this vision of the future, together with such strong partners as CDC as well as the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the European Union.”
Nick Hurd MP, the UK’s Minister for International Development, who visited the Matebe site in March, also commented on the benefits hydro-electric power can offer, stating that “Affordable, reliable, electricity means children can do their homework after dark, women and girls are safer at night and families are not forced to rely on expensive and toxic kerosene. This is why this investment is so important; it will transform the prospects of hundreds of thousands of people as well as boost the growth of the DRC, creating new markets for Britain to trade with.”
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