PhD project: Legal Responses to Environmental Degradation and Land Governance in the Albertine Graben Region (Uganda): Analysis in Light of International Environmental Law

Uganda’s Albertine Graben is predominantly an Eco-region that consists of waterways mainly Lake Albert, National Parks (protected game reserves/animal sanctuaries), farmlands as well as the Savannah grassland. Currently, the Albertine Graben is savaged as a result of oil and gas exploration which has alarmed the rest of the world due to environmental impacts striking the country. Fortunately, Uganda was present at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and since then, Uganda’s Environmental legislation has been fundamentally influenced by the UNCED principles. Subsequently, Uganda adopted the Conventions formed from UNCED principles that is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change (UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol) among others. Despite Uganda’s express commitments to the aforementioned Conventions, the Albertine Graben and its inhabitants continually suffer adverse effects arising from mineral exploration contrary to sustainable use of the ecosystem. In light of UNCED, Principle1 on the centrality of human beings to sustainable development, Principle 3 on the importance of the environment for current and future generations, Principle 10 on inclusive participation of all concerned citizens and Principle 17 on environmental impact assessments (EIAs), Uganda’s legal enforcement on environmental conservation appears to be largely ineffective. This study seeks to interrogate whether the legal frameworks can effectively address land governance and environmental protection in oil-rich contexts, taking the case of Uganda’s Albertine Graben in relation to international environmental standards. This Phd Research study will review how Uganda has responded to; (i) ecosystem protection, (ii) access to justice of land rights (gender equity), and (iii) biodiversity conservation, as environmental elements necessary to achieve sustainable development. The study will theorize on ecological sustainable use for proper natural resource management. Through the use of an analytical review supplemented with interview guides, the study will conclude with the best environmental practices applicable in an ecological mineral extractive area for better co-existence.