In the face of global pressure, the British oil and gas firm Soco International announced Wednesday that it will not drill for oil in Virunga National Park as long as the park remains fully protected under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.

The announcement was part of a joint statement released by Soco and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of several conservation groups that have challenged the legality of a 2010 contract signed by Soco and the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The contract granted the company exploration rights to a concession that includes roughly 50 percent of Virunga, Africa's oldest and most biodiverse national park and home to 200 rare mountain gorillas. (See "