West Africa newsperson Sam Mednick uncovered the extent of mining within the contested boundaries of a protected heritage site in eastern Congo.
Mednick was tipped off to Chinese companies expanding their mining under shady circumstances, and one of those companies quickly expanded operations with legal permits to mine by the Okapi Wildlife Reserve while the boundaries of this endangered UN heritage site shrank.
The reserve is remote, the mines are guarded by soldiers and the area is rampant with armed groups, including one connected to the Islamic State. No commercial flights go there and roads there are not paved. Mednick flew near the site, but accessing the Reserve requires complicated logistics, and she spent two years trying to return.
Mednick got herself on a U.N. flight to the closest town and drove. Once there, authorities wouldn’t speak to her, rangers were warned to stay away, and aid groups wouldn’t engage with her for fear of backlash. Despite being denied access, Mednick got several miners working with the Chinese to secretly meet her for rare interviews. Mednick filmed video and took her own photos as well as sourced more visuals from people who had been on the inside.
Through aerial footage and camera traps, the story showed the degradation of the forest and the mine’s expansion. Satellite imagery showed a six-year timeline of the expansion and a map contrasted the park´s past and present boundaries.
Mednick’s story was the first to reveal an internal government memo where the mining ministry agreed that its boundaries are wrong and said it would evict companies. Publicly, however, the mining ministry maintains that the boundaries they’re using are correct.
The story was widely circulated by conservationists and mining experts valued its historical record, with one conservationist thanking Mednick for “tackling this sensitive subject.”
For not giving up on this environment story in an almost impossible place to report, Mednick earns Best of the AP — Second Winner.
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