Oil: Experts warn of environmental crisis

Jun 15, 2012

Environmental experts have warned of an environmental crisis in the Oil rich areas in Western Uganda.

BY PASCAL KWESIGA AND SAMPAUL NAKHAIMA

Environmental experts have warned of an environmental crisis in the Oil rich areas in Western Uganda if the current level of depletion of natural resources is not checked.

Natural resources conservationists from government and the private sector have said the deteriorating environmental situation in the Albertine graben could cause a humanitarian crisis in future if no concrete action is taken now to stop it.  

Several environmental experts have also been warning that the oil exploration activities could exacerbate the environmental degradation if concrete measures are not put in place to prevent the oil waste from contaminating the water sources.

The minister for water and environment, Maria Mutagamba said there is need for proper planning before Uganda embarks on oil production program because huge amounts of water will be needed to extract oil from the ground.

 She explained that nearly ten liters of water will have to be pumped into the ground first to extract a liter of oil.

"Oil is so heavy that it cannot be extracted from the ground without using water. We shall have to first pump water into the ground before extracting oil," Mutagamba said during the launch of the ten year Northern Albertine rift natural resources conservation project in in Kampala.

The project to conserve biodiversity in the Albertine rift forests was designed by World Wide Fund for nature (WWF) with funding from the United Nations Development program (UNDP).

The minister said the project that is to be implemented by the local governments in the Bunyoro and Tooro regions, various ministries and development partners seeks to promote conservation of the ecosystem and biodiversity in the Albertine region that has assumed international importance due to the presence of oil and gas.  

WWF, an international environmental conservation organization that has been implementing a five year conservation of biodiversity in the Albertine rift forests project on behalf of government said the region has a unique and important ecological biodiversity but it's experiencing a high population growth of 5.2% per year surpassing the national average of 3.2%.

David Duli, WWF country director said 51.5% of the rural populations in the region live in absolute poverty while 90% of the rural households rely on forest resources for fuel wood.

He added that 84% of the houses are constructed using timber from forests while 53% of households collect water from springs and streams in forests.

Duli noted that the reliance of the people on natural resources for a living has worsened environmental degradation which if not controlled is likely to spark climate change driven humanitarian crisis in fifteen years.

Onesmus Muhwezi, the head of the energy and development department in UNDP said they would support the project to conserve natural resources in the oil rich region.

 

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