The project will result in the permanent eviction of over 100,000 people in Tanzania and Uganda
The project will connect the Tilenga and Kingfisher oilfields in western Uganda with the port of Tanga in eastern Tanzania. Representative photo: iStock. An oil pipeline under construction in east Africa will disturb some of the continent’s most sensitive ecosystems and exacerbate the global climate crisis, warned a recent report by the international non-profit Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) will disrupt ecosystems, including Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park and the Murchison Falls-Albert Delta Ramsar site, added the report released on July 10, 2023.
The project, one of the most significant fossil fuel infrastructures connecting the Tilenga and Kingfisher oilfields in western Uganda with the port of Tanga in eastern Tanzania, is estimated to release 379 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2E) — more than the annual emissions of Australia.
Also read: Okavango, Murchison Falls: Big Oil closing in on two iconic African Edens, flags report
If completed, EACOP will have dozens of oil wells, hundreds of kilometres of roads, camps and other infrastructures and a 1,443-kilometre pipeline. The pipeline will transport the crude through Uganda and Tanzania to the Indian Ocean Port of Tanga. The pipeline will run through 178 villages in Uganda and 231 villages in Tanzania.
Pipeline ruptures, inadequate waste handling and other pollution, would cause significant damage to the land, water, air and the species that rely on them, noted the report titled Our Trust is Broken: Loss of Land and Livelihoods for Oil Development in Uganda.
The project will result in the permanent eviction of over 100,000 people in Tanzania and Uganda. HRW interviewed some of the families that are already displaced.
The condition of the affected households is much worse than before. Many are still waiting for the compensation assured by the project’s chief proponent TotalEnergies and its subsidiaries when they extolled the benefits of the project.
However, the French oil giant TotalEnergies rejected the HRW’s accusations, saying it respected the rights of affected people. In a letter written to HRW on June 15, 2023, TotalEnergies claimed to have paid 97 per cent of compensation in Tilenga by May 2023.
Last year, the French multinational announced a $10 billion investment agreement with Uganda, Tanzania and the Chinese company CNOOC to carry out the project. Preliminary groundwork began earlier this year, and the pipeline is scheduled for completion in 2025.
However, delays, poor communication and inadequate compensation have marred the land acquisition process. For years the company’s operations in East Africa have faced legal challenges. At the end of June, five groups of activists sued TotalEnergies in a Paris civil court over the companies’ EACOP development.
The land acquisition process has caused severe financial hardships for thousands of Ugandan farmers, including heavy household debt, food insecurity and an inability to pay school fees, forcing many children to drop out. Unclear communications have compounded the impact of multiyear delays. Farmers are unsure whether to continue using the land to harvest coffee, bananas and other cash crops in the interim.
TotalEnergies and its subsidiaries should increase the amount of compensation and livelihood restoration efforts to be consistent with human rights standards, urged HRW.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.