Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the whether the planned Sombwe Dam and associated reservoir in the Democratic Republic of Congo will have a footprint in the Upemba National Park.

The UK is aware of the proposed project and the concerns regarding potential environmental impacts on the Upemba National Park. Whilst the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s energy needs are great and the mining sector currently relies heavily on diesel power generation to make up for a deficit in electricity, it is also vital that these needs are balanced with the needs to protect DRC's fragile environments and ecosystems.

The British Embassy in Kinshasa is in direct contact with the Director of the Upemba National Park and with civil society organisations in the Haut Katanga province where the Park is situated. Civil society have been working to publicise concerns about threats to the Park and the UK are supportive of their efforts. A study on the environmental impacts on the Park is currently underway by the Congolese National Institute for Conservation (ICCN) and we are waiting to see the findings of this study. Following a report by several NGOs, a Parliamentary Commission has been launched to investigate the concerns. The UK will be following up with relevant members to understand the conclusions from this commission.

The UK is scaling up its efforts to support DRC to safeguard its environment and adopt a low carbon development path. COP 26 saw an announcement from the UK to contribute £200 million to help protect the Congo Basin forests. Encouraging responsible investment into DRC will be a vital factor in driving sustainable growth.