Avant le deluge: Un barrage menace l’un des plus anciens parcs nationaux d’Afrique

The Sombwe dam project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo threatens the Upemba National Park, potentially flooding tropical forests and endangering rare species like savannah elephants and zebras. Global Witness reports that the 160 MW project may violate Congolese conservation law and could release 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 by the end of the century. The report highlights failures in the initial environmental impact study and calls on the constructor, PowerChina, and international financial backers—including BlackRock and Standard Chartered—to suspend work and seek an alternative site.

• The Sombwe dam project, with a capacity of 160 megawatts, is located within a national park and may therefore violate the national law on nature conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• The project threatens the Upemba National Park, which is home to rare species including savannah elephants and the last zebras in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Submerging forest areas for the dam could result in 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by the end of the century, an amount exceeding the emissions from burning three million barrels of oil.
• An initial environmental impact study for the dam was found to have "serious flaws" according to a study commissioned by the EU and reviewed by Global Witness.
• The dam's likely constructor, PowerChina, has received financial support from major international investment firms and banks, including BlackRock, Vanguard, Société Générale, Standard Chartered, and China Construction Bank.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Avant le deluge: Un barrage menace l’un des plus anciens parcs nationaux d’Afrique. https://globalwitness.org/fr/campaigns/forests/avant-le-deluge-un-barrage-menace-lun-des-plus-anciens-parcs-nationaux-dafrique/

Chicago

Global Witness. Avant le deluge: Un barrage menace l’un des plus anciens parcs nationaux d’Afrique. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/fr/campaigns/forests/avant-le-deluge-un-barrage-menace-lun-des-plus-anciens-parcs-nationaux-dafrique/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Avant le deluge: Un barrage menace l’un des plus anciens parcs nationaux d’Afrique |url=https://globalwitness.org/fr/campaigns/forests/avant-le-deluge-un-barrage-menace-lun-des-plus-anciens-parcs-nationaux-dafrique/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitnessndavant, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Avant le deluge: Un barrage menace l’un des plus anciens parcs nationaux d’Afrique}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/fr/campaigns/forests/avant-le-deluge-un-barrage-menace-lun-des-plus-anciens-parcs-nationaux-dafrique/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }