Global human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has joined the growing list of campaigners opposing the development of Uganda’s oil and gas sector by asking financiers to stay away from the multi-billion project citing environmental concerns.
HRW and campaigners in a lengthy document published this month — are urging more banks and insurers not to back the $5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline that is primed to transport oil from the Hoima oilfields in Uganda to the Tanzanian coastal city of Tanga.
The 47-page document titled is: Our Trust is Broken”: Loss of Land and Livelihoods for Oil Development in Uganda”.
The growing pressure mounted by environmental groups has led to a growing list of banks and insurers quitting the oil pipeline project with campaigners putting the number of people whose livelihoods affacted by the project at 100,000.
“The project will displace more than 100,000 people, has caused food insecurity and household debt, caused children to leave school, and is likely to have devastating environmental effects,” the campaigners say in a report—mounting pressure on Ugandan authorities.
The 897-mile (1,443 kilometer) oil pipeline is billed as the longest heated pipeline in the world. The China National Oil Corporation and French energy conglomerate TotalEnergies, alongside the Uganda National Oil Company and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Cooperation, have remained firm in pushing ahead with the pipeline project which is expected to start transporting oil in 2025.
Construction of the pipeline will displace thousands of families and threaten water resources in the Lake Victoria and River Nile basins, according to HRW. The Human Rights Watch group goes on to say that the crude pipeline will generate some 37 million tons (34 million metric tonnes) of carbon dioxide emissions annually, fueling climate change.
It also calls on other companies not to support the pipeline and that the project should not be completed because it will exacerbate the global climate crisis.”
Uganda maintains that criticism against its US$20 billion oil project is based on misinformation and blackmail.
According to the laws governing the oil and gas projects, all affected persons must be fully compensated before they leave the affected land, and the EACOP says it is abiding by this.
The report says that while almost all the people have been compensated, there were lengthy delays and this affected them.
“The development in the oilfield, which will ultimately displace over 100,000 people, is well underway. Although 90 percent of people who will lose land to the project have received compensation from TotalEnergies EP Uganda, the project has suffered from multiyear delays in paying compensation and inadequate compensation,” it says.
Felix Horne, a Senior Environment Researcher at HRW called the project a disaster for human rights and the environment.
“EACOP has been a disaster for the tens of thousands who have lost the land that provided food for their families and an income to send their children to school, and who received too little compensation from TotalEnergies. EACOP is also a disaster for the planet and the project should not be completed,” he said.
The organization says the report is based primarily on over 90 interviews that it conducted in early 2023, including with 75 displaced families in five districts in Uganda. It says the delays and unclear communication have left the people in suspense over whether or not to use their land in the process.
“Consequently, the land acquisition project has caused severe financial hardships for thousands of Ugandan farmers, including heavy household debt, food insecurity, and an inability to pay school fees, causing many children to drop out of school.”
One of the consistent complaints by the project-affected persons PAPs is the inability to understand the terms and conditions in the documents they sign as they cannot comprehend the English language statements. Independent surveys by Uganda Radio Network heard from the PAPs that while the EACOP and Tilenga manager’s intentions were clear and positive, it was the agent companies hired to handle compensation that were violating the rules.
“They come here promising us everything,” a resident said. “We believed them. Now we are landless, the compensation money is gone, what fields we have left are flooded, and dust fills the air,” the HRW report quotes a PAP. Atacama Consulting and Newplan Group managed the land acquisition process on behalf of TotalEnergies EP Uganda.
The report says that TotalEnergies has promised to respect various international standards including International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards, which require TotalEnergies and its subsidiaries to restore or enhance livelihoods to pre-disturbance levels. “The pipeline has secured about 60 percent of its funding target. While the project still searches for the necessary financing, TotalEnergies and its subsidiaries should increase the amount of compensation and livelihood restoration efforts to be consistent with human rights standards,” the report urges.
In a June 15 letter to Human Rights Watch, TotalEnergies stated they “continue to pay close attention to respecting the rights of the communities concerned” and provided detailed responses underscoring their view that the compensation offered was in accordance with IFC standards. It says that Atacama Consulting rejected allegations that pressure was applied to people to sign and outlined why in their view the compensation provided met the requirement of “full replacement cost.”
The report also raises concerns about the pipeline’s “grave” effects on the environment.
“The pipeline route traverses sensitive ecosystems, including protected areas and internationally significant wetlands, posing threats to biodiversity and ecosystems that local communities depend on for their sustenance,” it says.
TotalEnergies has defended the pipeline noting that it adheres to strict Ugandan and Tanzanian environmental laws. An environmental social impact assessment report conducted by the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment raised concerns about significant risks posed to wildlife notably chimpanzees in the Bugoma, Wambabya and Taala forest reserves.
Initially priced at $3.5 billion, the underground electrically heated pipeline will now cost $5 billion and is expected to start near Lake Albert in Hoima District, western Uganda. It will skirt around Lake Victoria entering northern Tanzania on its way to Chongoleani peninsula on the Indian Ocean transporting 216,000 barrels of crude oil per day.