Uganda’s Oil Versus Wildlife
The discovery of oil in many African countries has been more of a curse than a blessing. With the discovery of oil in Western Uganda and the continued oil exploration in many other parts of the region, many Ugandans have mixed feelings about its promised benefits.
However, that is not the only problem being posed by the discovery of oil; the oil wells that have been discovered are in the wildlife rich regions of Western Uganda. The oil exploration is being extended into the conservation areas of Murchison Falls National Park.
Due to this Safari Lodge owners, Tour and Travel operators and Conservationists are greatly opposed to the latest plans by Heritage Oil to carry out seven tests within the northern sections of the Murchison Falls National Park. Earlier this year two wells were tested – Giraffe1 and Buffalo1, with the testing of each of these seven wells expected to take approximately three months. Of the seven wells to be tested four are to be situated on either side of the Pakwach – Paraa wildlife track, another called the Hartbeest is going to be situated just close to the Nile Delta whereas two others going to be located at the beginning of one for most popular wildlife tracks – Buligi which leads into the Nile Delta.
This region is teeming with hundreds of elephants, buffaloes, antelopes and giraffes offering one of the most magnificent biodiverse areas in the world, which makes Murchison Falls National Park so popular among tourists visiting the country.
During a meeting on the 4th of August, the stakeholders in the Tourism Industry wanted to know from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) – The body charged by Government to ensure the protection and conservation of wildlife in the country the fate of Buligi wildlife track. They wanted to know whether the track would be closed off to tourists during the testing for oil. This was because during the testing Giraffe1 and Baffaloe1 wells from the months of November 2008 – May 2009, the Buligi track was closed off to tourists.
However, the officials from Uganda Wildlife Authority were able to allay these fears, promising the Safari Lodge owners and Tour Operators that this time round, the wildlife circuit will remain open to tourists who don’t mind the exploration activities taking place in the region. During the exploration there will be stages when the activities could be disruptive to game drives and the effects of the oil spillage cannot be estimated at this moment.
Alternative Wildlife Circuits
However, this would leaves out tourists who want to do game drives and wildlife tracking in undisturbed and pristine environments. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officials are considering alternative circuits to this class of tourists.
UWA is considering using the second section of the Buligi track which is still free from oil exploration to run a bridge from Paraa Safari Lodge all along the Nile River to the Buligi circuit.
Another alternative that was being floated is a circuit that connects the Chobe-Pakuba road to Tangi gate
These alternatives would mean that the Uganda Wildlife Authority – UWA constructs about 3-4 bridges across the River which would require funds that the body does not have at the moment.
However, these suggested circuits are tracks that were used in the 1960’s and were closed due to the insecurity that was a part of the political instability that the country was facing. However, with the increased number of visitors to the National park and the improved security these circuits will be re-opened.
From 2003 the number of tourist’s visitors to Murchison Falls National Park was 3,000 compared to about 40,000 tourists last year. Mr. Moses Mapesa the Chairman of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said that the increased security and number of visitors to the park has created the possibility of opening up new tourist activities liking white water rafting and sport fishing as well as an increased number of circuits.
The Wildlife Body which was in a catch 22 situation said the oil exploration could be used as leverage to bargain for the fast-tracking of all these other proposed activities for the development of the park.
According to Mr. Moses Mapesa the Wildlife Body together with the oil companies would create a trust fund considering the Oil Companies would have a vested interest and an obligation to support the conservation of will in a transparent and sustainable way.
The Movement of Wildlife
Conservationists on the other hand are worried that the movement of vehicles, lights in the night and noise from the drilling oils would cause a great disturbance to the animals leading to their migration into possibly unprotected areas in the villages around the conservation area. This would jeopardize their population and might incite the villagers into poaching and bush meat hunting.
According to the General Manager of Paraa Safari Lodge Mr. Kenneth Mugira, the earlier explorations of the Baffalo1 and Girraffe1 wells caused the animals to migrate.
They are however, not so sure as which directions the animals might take as there’s the Nile River in West and South. This leaves the East and North villages of Amuru districts where they might wreck havoc as they did earlier in the year. Earlier and late last year there were herds and rogue elephants that terrorized villages to the district, destroying gardens and people’s homes.
Environmental Degradation
The environmental degradation caused by the oil companies is another thing that is worrying conversationists. Despite the Environment Impact Assessment that was carried out prior to the oil exploration by Heritage at Buffalo1, the area looks like huge abandoned construction site.
Heritage Oil had previously promised to restore the area however, the road that was graded and the clearings for the machinery and trucks parking is still like an open sore in the National park.
The testing of oil at the Buffalo1 site three months ago has left an area the size of about two soccer pitches almost barren although Heritage Oil tried in vain to plant some grass. According to Mr. Mapesa there are a number of issues that the company has to rectify such as soil degradation, toxic waste materials and all.
There is however still a number of unanswered questions such as the possibility of laying oil pipelines across the park should commercial drilling of oil or gas begin once viable amounts of oil have been found. The well at Buffalo1 and Giraffe1 were found to contain more gas than oil.
The is also the question of whether oil trucks or tankers that might be used to transport the oil through the park.
Balancing Tourism and Petroleum
The lure of petrol dollars is way too strong and the Uganda Wildlife Authority has definitely decided that exploration of the oil wells will go ahead. However, the stakeholders in the Tourism industry suggested that this should be done one at a time to mitigate the disturbance that would be caused to the conservation area. This is because each exploration site needs roads, camps and other support infrastructure.
Tourism is one of the country’s highest income earners and striking a balance between oil and tourism is definitely a worthwhile effort. Last year the number of tourists visiting the country shot up to 840,000 and considering that each tourist spends on average $750, Government would do well to enable enhance tourism while embarking on oil exploration.
Earlier in the year Mr. Mapesa was accused of blocking the exploration of oil in the Semliki wildlife reserve and Kabwoya game reserve. It was said he resisted efforts to de-gazette these reserves, however, the President later during a meeting defended him saying that oil is not renewal and would be gone in 30 – 50 years however, the animals if managed properly can be with us for years to come, ensuring that we continue to earn revenue for future generations
