Ah, it is good to have you with us. Hello, adrian finnegan. Here in doha, the headlines announces era, hundreds of thousands of roha, a mocking 5 years since they fled a military crank down in miramar. Close to 1000000 people are now living in whats become the Worlds Largest refugee camp in bangladesh. In may another former British Ambassador to the country has been arrested. Vicki bowman runs the mere ma center for responsible business. She and her husband were detained in yan, gone for violating immigration laws. On wednesday, on thursday, britain imposed due sanctions against businesses linked to me in mas government. The russian held zapora zia Nuclear Plants in southern new crate has been disconnected from the countrys power grid. Its apparently after fire damaged overhead power lines. Keven moscow continued to accuse each other of launching attacks on the facility. A prominent kremlin critic as appeared in a rush and called accused of discrediting the military. The of gainey roys man, was arrested on wednesday in the city of the a catherine book. Where he previously served as mare, he was charged off to referring to moscows attacks on ukraine. As an invasion, the kremlin calls it a special military operation. August arms, former Prime Minister in wrong card, has been granted baled by an Anti Terrorism cause. And islam about the case relates to a speech that con, made over the weekend will resume next month. Cons accused of threatening police at a judge who ordered the arrest of his top aid. Im done with logwood on the whole world is making fun of pakistan. There was torture and sexual abuse against shabazz gill. It is confirmed in the court that he has been tortured, and i said, i will take legal action against the police and the judge when you aboard the dodger. So when i say i will take legal action. Instead, i am accused of tentative them what a joke that has went headlines around the world making pakistan look like a Banana Republic when there is no law and anyone can be victimized. Heavy rain and flash floods that have devastated large parts of pakistan show no sign of letting up. Tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes. Since the downpours began in june, Civil DefenseAuthorities Say that all the 900 people of diet and those are the headlights that hes continues here on out to sarah after the stream. Coming up next, 2 stories will strong willed with challenging traditional female stereotypes in a male dominated society to make a difference. If i go, of course, well pull into the ravine. Po, families look like this. The water is highly contaminated. Bolivia in the cloud. Risk in it all on our dessert. Ah, i us, i me okay to down the street. Were talking about the congo basin. That is the location of the worlds 2nd largest rating forest. It is also homer to tropical pia lance, the Worlds Largest tropical paint lands. It is a carbon sink, which means that it absorbs Carbon Dioxide rather than creates Carbon Dioxide and also the natural habitat for gorillas. Soon to be also the site, the gas, an oil prospectus. Take a look. Oh, with an estimated potential for me to bring in bottles of oil in 3 major city mean 2 basins and 66000000 cubic meters of methane gas and they keep the asi is a new destination of investments for oil and Gas Companies from 20. 00 to 29. 00 to like 2020 to the Hydrocarbons Ministry of t. R. C will open as a bidding on for exploration and production rights. On 27. 00 petroleum plots, and 3 gas logs in, they keep international and national oil and Gas Companies. I invited to join the means, ya see as a new destination for investments. Welcome to d r. C. Today show is the democratic republic of congo putting all and gas revenues ahead of the Global Climate crisis. Joining us, we have simon and bone. Theyre going to give us their expert takes nice to have both of you with a simon you tell an audience what you do. Yeah, im a scientist. I work on Climate Change and tropical forests. So ive worked in the congo basin for many years now trying to understand his role in the Global Climate system gets a happy alan. Bon, welcome to the strain. Tell our audience what you take a thank you. Send me another tenens. Equalization add to this to i think of myself as having a paint and for him to find the stories of communities picking up for the rights to a silver healthy environment and standing up against the greed of big business and the vested interest of governments. And what, most importantly, im head of communications with greenpeace africa, which gives me plenty of opportunity to talk the stories are, im looking forward to those stories. So audience viewers watching night. Now, if youre new to the Comment Section is open and available for you. Many of you, i know, understand the pros and cons of Natural Resources and fossil fuels. What do you think about the d r c opening itself up for oil and gas prospectors . Put your comments, your questions right here. We did try to involve the d. R. C government. Let me tell you all of the people that we reached out to ministry of hybrid hydrocarbons. The environment ministry, the ministry of communications. He said, yes, yes, we do want to be on the stream and then complete ghosted ass. But i am so glad that we have been born and simon, because they are right here. I wouldnt dream of ghosting as if youre watching government of the asi Comment Section. Of you chip, please, please be part of our shape. All right, so lets take a look at this area in the congo basin, where there are opening up options and bidding for oil and gas prospectors. I if you look around the edge, you see what those red areas are. Those are the areas that are going to be up for, for bidding right now, all the way through to april of next year. Simon, what do you see in that graphic and, and bang, i want to ask you the same thing. What does that say to you that well, to me is, is a big problems on the horizon. Because those red areas, my team estimate cover 11000000. 00 hectares of tropical rainforest. I love the all the communities that are living there, all the plants and animals. Within the 11000000 hector is 1000000 hectares of tropical peace. Some of the most carbon dens systems and if those areas are opened up even just to look for oil, then that could open the floodgates to wildlife loss, deforestation, and all sorts of problems for the local community. And both from a community perspective, is this an opportunity for the communities in those areas where theres going to be prospecting or is it opening up some real problems for them in terms of what that land will look like . What, what farming will look like . What their livelihood will look like for me, i will tell you what i see there is ill ride cartridge by the government of the d. C on these people. And of course, the wildlife. The areas that you mapped in read a very rich ecosystems that does causing some of the most p c National Reserves in the geography and its home to millions of people. I think we are over 40 villages just between the been by lake region and the crystal province, which is africa had the privilege of visiting just before the options happened on july 28th. And for this communities, what they see is complete disaster because you will recall its over for 60 years now. 40 is more, more to be exact. Thats some of the alarm who already transformed into conservation parks, which were very, which means restrictions to how they could function and how they could operate. And then for the past they could, theyve been having to deal with the team in the gulf t, my exploration and a full from mrs. King with that. And to, to know that the atlanta up for auction has been a sort of fear of despair and outreach for this community. So what i see there, its, its, its nothing but college and total disaster for the communities that are leaving. And standing on this lands, i want to bring into our conversation allen, connie, hes a congress journalist. Hes been reporting on this is ocean, that is happening right now. In the d. C. L is really good to have you. When youre reporting on this, this is a good news story for people in the d. C. Thank you very much for the me and i dont think it may be a good news for you. But you know the people are a little bit. What did they know very well . Its not resources which the government does, it have to change the tissue as the government is trying to convince people that this really includes what is up with the budget. So the come of the country if you will allow, for example, the country to tackle detroit the 2 issue. We come from these guys, the oil or opening for us to, to do for the, for us to come inside. When you talk with people you discussed with the population that you dont feel like people really warm about the idea because they know very well, but out of the for it which they know. And also we have towers and need to know people are living their life depend on for with and also the lake which ours are targeted by the government with this project, people, they do not need a well that it is not about this is all about money for the nutrition or government, but its not like it, this would change more something very special in their life. No. Well, this is all about politics and politicians trying to, to, to talk to some of the different projects on for, for their own interest. So yes, people are not really, they dont take it as a big story or a big achievement, which the government may, may achieve the coming they buy. They do believe that its all about money and so on. But the countries still have so many capacity to do to get to money by using the option. As i said, this is interesting because on youtube and among and signing on you just as a conversation about. But the d r c, it needs to be developed. Isnt this a Good Opportunity to have funds to develop the d. C . Because it isnt at the moment among but you know, when im wrong and, and then you start guide a college, you know, the country when you go in custody. For example, if you people are, they all know that we have, for example, enough we know which, which will help you to kind of be developed if you elect you. Im ready. So my mind remind out is how Many Minerals the biase has the odyssey as the most of the, i think the big resolve of cobalt, for example in the region we have right now the country is trying to open a legion on its rotation in the area of katana, this will be a 1000000000. 00 in company in the country, and also we have been living with this municipal years right now. But people still the same question that i was saying previously, what the countries did with the money from the mean. That was, what are we doing with the money from the mean it was up to now it is all about to really on that we are talking about a year. So its not like a capacity. Yes. And i think that makes a very good point for me. Because we need to understand that if sending off resources to the highest was the way for the d. C to improve its economy to become, to, to, to, to look after the interest of its people as the government has been saying over the past month. That is to be a g 7 nation by now, but thats to approach a very, a very new colonial approach of extraction and shipping out of the country has still persistently, im happy and been mentioned to read about the reactions on the ground because that is exactly what our team also found out when were visiting some of the villages or the communities that will be affected by the auction. It is complete outreach because they know that government after goldman, theyve been given promises of how the spelling of the forest would make life better offending selling all the the cold. But the, all of the other minerals will transform your life. But those promises have never delivered, and its going to be the same thing. 10 years after this, pipelines are a barrier and all shipped out of your c. It will be the same situation. It will be hard sheet and for the despair for communities who are leaving life now. Depending on the, on the lake, for fishing, depending on differential food and all of the be taken away funded son i, i want to share a here with you and it goes back to this. Theres 2 clips side by side. So one is november 2021, and this is at cop. And then we go to july 2022, which is a in kinshasa where the ocean begins. The thing person is in both of these courses, present, felix chest, a caddy. And in one he is promising to preserve the rain voice and the other one hes offering up. Itll slots of land the people to prospect in then. Same suits, different message. Lets take a look. Live for a few months under the forests of the congo basin represents the 2nd lung of the world and contribute largely to the regulation of the Global Climate balance. However, this fast forest is exposed to the risks of deforestation expose in the framework of the effective implementation of the paras agreements. It is imperative to take into account the mitigation of these risks as otherwise a major ecological crisis could result you. Its erica, in a win Win Partnership that respects Environmental Standards and the interests of local communities. With these words, i am delighted to solemnly launch to day the bidding process for 27 oil blocks and 3 gospel oh, what happened, simon . Well, who knows exactly what happened and obviously is up to the goggle is a government to decide how to manage is different obligations, internationally and nationally. But what i find so shocking about this and, and, and it, it shocks the International Community is there, this oil auction was announced very hastily and with 0, no environmental or social, or other Impact Assessment of what the impact might be of this oil exploration. And that is, i think just anti democratic to, to push this on to the calling people without having done the honda live work and present it to the core people. These are the likely impacts of going down this route versus delay the impacts of going down another route. How can anyone make a sensible decision about whether this is a useful way to go or not . And i think thats because really they know deep down, that is not a sensible way to go. And i think crucially, what a lot of people miss in this debate is that nobody knows how much oil is there. There might be no, thats commercially viable extractable. So there may be a case where people put in very low bids, the government make very little money, but then they open up the forest to go and do the oil prospecting, and less in the commercial hunters. And thats the end of all the animals, the illegal commercial loggers and as the end of the big trees and then is this opened up, degraded forest stays, very easy slated for outright deforestation. So you could have millions of tens of deforestation in the heart of the congo basin for an even no benefit financially to the congress. Hes gotten this is entirely and thought through and really needs a reassessment, which is why i was very glad that the us governments recent did the data. They were very unhappy about speed. It was happening without all the safe cause and checks in place. And they needed to be slow down and to do all the studies before thinking about going ahead. Let me, let me play. That was the secretary of state entry blank. And in the d. C, quite recently assigned mom was saying, i just got to play for our audience what he said, and the key points in the simons so let me show them if i wouldnt festival back up 26. The world Data Collected pledge of 1500000000. 00 to support the congo basins forest. So in that context, we had concerns about the announcement of the auction of these oil and Gas Exploration blocks. We agreed to Work Together to establish from a working group to help con, believes, achieve a balanced approach, responsible development of the companys resources that contributes to condos, Economic Growth and generating jobs by conserving irreplaceable forests and other ecosystems. And by undertaking Development Projects only after carrying out rigorous environmental Impact Assessments, the d r c can act on behalf of all those people to protect are shared home. Let me ask a few questions, is audience and watching on youtube, and they want to ask you some questions. Im going to ask you the quick questions and i me quick answers so we can cover a lot of territory. Ok, shavanne says the pursuit of eco friendly endeavors is different. But africans who alone, what do you make of that . Come again on the question. The pursuit of eco friendly endeavors is different for africans who africans have a different approach to the environment sustainability. Preserving they rang forest than other regions of the countries. All the continents yeah, different this is exactly also the case. The one i was coming in debate. Busy my colleague talking about the tissue in the park, for example, today if you pick, for example, the protein, while the parent opens the water, you will see for example, the priority. Nobody should be something because we have this big path which supposed to be open. But this is one of the part that the, the conky need to use it for 2 reasons, but they are unable 1st of all, to provide even the curity for tourists in this buck to provide money for the country. And nothing is really guaranteed today that even these people will be walking on this project in this box will be a coupe. This will be another security if they can meet the issue in the original. If you take, for example, the problem which are given, rated to be in the region, you take the nigel delta for example. You know, how many groups of down been created in these issues . What Petroleum Nigeria and you take the case now in that is done on the most part of the spit or block. I look at it in what you, what one more than 150. Im the group in the region. An