New Maps: Fossil fuel threats remain to protected areas and priority ecosystems, energy transition mining threats loom

As COP28 parses turning off the tap on fossil fuels, legal protection of climate-critical and high-biodiversity places and Indigenous land tenure come to fore

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, December 4, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- All eyes will be on energy and industry, just transition, and Indigenous peoples on December 5th at COP28 as the program makes a thematic shift. Exploring all three of these topics, a new study released at a UN press conference at COP yesterday spotlights fossil fuel expansion threats to protected areas around the globe, building on stark findings released a few weeks ago at the Summit of the Three Basins in Brazzaville.

The reports both come at a critical moment of increased political and international policy momentum for a complete phase-out of fossil fuel production worldwide, and call for a global moratorium on all fossil fuel development and expansion in the world’s protected areas, as well as some of the most important remaining high integrity, biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.

𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

• 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 — 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 — 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸-𝘁𝗼-𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱. 𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 (𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄) 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗢𝗣𝟮𝟴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.


𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬: 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬

As the energy transition ramps up, it is vital that it doesn’t cause more problems than it is designed to solve. Critical minerals are a cornerstone of the energy transition away from fossil fuels and towards zero emissions electric vehicles, but if minerals such as nickel are sourced by causing deforestation and degradation in tropical forests, it compromises the ability for nature to serve as a climate solution, exacerbating the biodiversity crisis and harming the health and livelihoods of nearby Indigenous and local communities.

Indonesia is ground zero for this concern. According to research with Auriga Nusantara, in Indonesia, half of all nickel concessions (primarily for battery metals) overlap with natural forests and a fivefold risk of deforestation/degradation is possible if nickel mining permits expand to cover the full deposit area in that country. The deforestation caused by nickel mining is akin to a moonscape and is leading to biodiversity depletion, the loss of the local people’s livelihoods, impacts on fisheries, and on the health of local communities, and civil society organizations in the region are calling for deforestation-free mining.

𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘛𝘈𝘊𝘛 𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘏 𝘐𝘕𝘚𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘔𝘈𝘗𝘚 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌𝘚.


𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐬: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐅𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐥 𝐅𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Protected areas are supposed to be protected. But fossil fuel extraction is currently and will continue to be a large and looming threat to protected areas. The Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO), a co-publisher of Losing Ground found has found that globally, at least 918 protected areas have ongoing or planned fossil fuel extraction projects within their boundaries, with a total of 2337 active or proposed oil, gas, and coal extraction ventures within legally protected areas, and at least 50.8 Gt of potential CO2 emissions from oil, gas, and coal reserves are on track to be extracted from projects within protected areas over their lifetimes, according to industry projections. This is more than three times the annual emissions from the US and China combined

The report also reveals that in the three largest pantropical forest basins, 300,000 km2 or 14% of the area of PAs overlap with oil and gas blocks. A number of case study areas are explored, including Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon, where oil and gas blocks overlap with more than 56% of the extent and 84% of Indigenous Territories in the park. Expansion is widely opposed by Indigenous peoples who live within the park boundaries and are already facing pollution from seismic testing.

Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s oldest and most biodiverse national park, has nearly 85% of its extent overlapped by oil and gas blocks and Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda has nearly half of its extent overlapping with oil and gas concessions and active drill pads under construction today which are imminently threatening the waters of Lake Albert and the Upper Nile river.

In Southeast Asia, 361 national parks are being encroached upon by fossil fuels — representing over 20% the extent of protected areas. Cambodia is a striking example as nearly 72% of the domain under protected areas overlaps with oil and gas blocks. Malaysia is accelerating its fossil fuel expansion plans and marine protected area Tun Mustapha, recently auctioned in 2023 has 100% overlap with oil and gas blocks — endangering the mangroves, coral, and coastline in the region.

𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘌𝘋 𝘈𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘚 𝘙𝘌𝘗𝘖𝘙𝘛: www.earth-insight.org/protect-protected-areas-cop28


𝐅𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐥 𝐅𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

According to analysis in the recently released three basins threat report, fossil fuel and mining expansion represents a significant threat not only to tropical forests in the world’s three largest forest basins, but also to Indigenous Territories and local communities in these regions. Key findings reveal:

• Nearly 20% of intact tropical forests in the three basins are now in active and potential oil and gas concessions
Nearly 25% of intact tropical forests in the Amazon and Congo basins are now in active or potential mining concessions (inclusive of critical minerals)
• Over 200 million people, including a significant proportion of Indigenous and local communities, or about 20% of the population in the three basin regions, live within oil and gas blocks.
• Over 500 distinct Indigenous nationalities call the Amazon Basin home and more than 31 million hectares of Indigenous Territories are now in oil and gas blocks designated for production or exploration

Since the Three Basins report was released, dozens of Congolese civil society and community organizations have come together to release a new statement unified in their opposition in the oil block auctioning in the Democratic Republic of Congo — where 60% of the Congo basin's tropical forests are located.

𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘙𝘌𝘌 𝘉𝘈𝘚𝘐𝘕𝘚 𝘙𝘌𝘗𝘖𝘙𝘛: https://www.earth-insight.org/three-basins-report-landing/
𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘛: https://tinyurl.com/ym3wfnkh


𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚: 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐁𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝

With Colombia recently joining the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance and signing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty along with other island nations, and showing public support for protecting 80% of the Amazon by 2025 and public championing of debt forgiveness as a strategy to keep fossil fuels in the ground, there are some signs of government leadership that if embraced by other countries could represent the kind of ambition and urgency needed to meet the climate and biodiversity crises.


𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

Watch the three basins press conference recording here (available in English, Spanish, French, Bahasa Indonesia): https://tinyurl.com/47atu9f8

Watch the protected areas press conference on the UNFCCC page here: https://unfccc.int/event/lingo-ev-report-protected-areas-worldwide-remain-unprotected-from-fossil-fuel-expansion

𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘛𝘈𝘊𝘛 𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘏 𝘐𝘕𝘚𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌𝘚.



𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢 𝘕𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴: "Our highly biodiverse rainforests and rivers of Borneo-Mekong Southeast Asia basin are threatened by fossil fuel expansion and other industrial threats. Furthermore, protected areas — that are meant to be legally protected — in the ASEAN region, that are already under severe pressures from overexploitation and habitat fragmentation, are additionally threatened by fossil fuels and mining, including nickel for so-called "energy transition". This is simply wrong and must stop, we need to ensure the protection of our remaining natural forests and coasts, and of the local communities."

𝘛𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳, 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴: “World leaders gathering at COP 28 have a tremendous opportunity to commit to stopping the expansion of fossil fuels now, not years from now. Prioritizing an end to fossil fuel and industrial expansion in protected areas and the world’s three largest tropical forest basins and beyond is critical and will create space for new regional and international financial and other solutions to emerge that balance economic development needs with the planetary boundaries.”

𝘒𝘫𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘒ü𝘩𝘯𝘦, 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 (𝘓𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘖) 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴: “It would be tragic if we devastated more of our incredible natural heritage for additional bits of dirty energy in the very last years of the fossil age. As the world is getting ready to end fossil fuel extraction, our message on projects in protected areas is simple: start here.“

𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘩𝘶 𝘙𝘢𝘰, 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘜𝘊𝘕 𝘞𝘊𝘗𝘈 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴: “Nature is in crisis and protected areas remain a critically important tool for the recovery of nature. It is imperative that we take every measure we can to maintain the ecological integrity of these areas. Keeping them off limits to fossil fuel extraction is fundamentally important in our journey toward a time-bound phase out of all fossil fuels.”

𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘒𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘶 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰, 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘖𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯 (𝘊𝘖𝘐𝘊𝘈) 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴: “The Amazon is in the midst of a tipping point crisis and is in serious danger of losing the ecosystem's ability to sustain itself. We urgently call to keep out of the Amazon the threats of fossil fuels and other industrial developments that are threatening and causing the destruction of critical ecosystems and the lands of indigenous peoples, including in protected areas. It is urgently necessary to strengthen indigenous rights, and provide legal security for indigenous territories as a condition for the safeguarding of their rights and the protection of the Amazon.”

𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘪, 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘵 𝘌𝘴𝘱è𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘤é𝘴 (𝘈𝘗𝘌𝘔) 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴: "A wide range of Congolese organizations representing millions of people are calling for protection of forests and communities from oil expansion auctioning in the Democratic Republic of Congo - where 60% of the Congo basin’s range is located. This is a generational moment because we have seen what oil ‘development’ does to communities and ecosystems and there is no place for this in the world's last intact rainforests."


𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬

COP28 Briefing Notes on Oil and Gas Threats to the Pantropics: https://tinyurl.com/mwts943s


𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭

Lynsey Grosfield, Head of Communications, Earth Insight, lynsey@earth-insight.org


𝐎𝐧-𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐎𝐏𝟐𝟖

Tyson Miller, Executive Director, Earth Insight: +1 (828) 279-2343, tyson@earth-insight.org


𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Earth Insight is a research and capacity building initiative that is a sponsored project of the Resources Legacy Fund, based in Sacramento, California. Staff and partners span the globe and represent a unique grouping of individuals and organizations with diverse backgrounds in mapping and spatial analysis, communications, and policy. Earth Insight is committed to advancing new tools, awareness, and momentum for protecting critical places and supporting civil society and indigenous and local communities in this effort.

www.earth-insight.org

Tyson Miller
Earth Insight
+1 828-279-2343
email us here
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