On the shores of Lake Albert, a very biodiverse region in Uganda, live many youth activists, committed to protecting the place they call home.
Oil was discovered in the region in 2009, and the extraction of resources in the area has resulted in serious human rights violations and environmental degradation.
Lake Albert Social Network (LASNET) was formed in Kampala, Uganda in 2014 to enhance livelihoods through activities that strengthen culture, formal and informal education, health, human rights, and environmental protection. Through these activities, the organization strives to prevent conflict and promote a culture of peace, sustainable development, democracy, and human rights for a better standard of human development.
In 2018, LASNET received a $4,000 grant from Global Greengrants Fund to raise awareness about the destructive potential of oil exploration in the Albertine Graben region of Uganda. Oil was recently discovered in this region, and drilling is slated to begin soon. It is anticipated that as in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, oil exploration will come with many negative effects to the environment, including biodiversity and agriculture, which is the source of livelihood for over 70% of people in Uganda.
Although drilling has yet to begin, negative impacts of oil exploration in the area are already apparent, presenting issues including land conflict and displacement. The government is ill-equipped to deal with these issues, hence the need to strategize and position women and youth at the forefront of demanding accountability and compliance for environmental protection laws.
With the $4,000, LASNET hosted a monthly radio talk show for six months to raise awareness about the challenges and impacts of oil exploration, mobilized the community, and organized Youth Environment Conservation forums. Through the forums, community members aimed to hold leaders and oil companies accountable and engaged in tree planting, environmental trainings, and more. Additionally, the group held trainings specifically for women and youth groups around advocacy and monitoring.
Robert Agenonga is a youth activist, and is one of the leading figures in efforts to protect Lake Albert. Along with his work with LASNET, Robert is also involved with Ngetha Media Association for Peace (NMAP), an organization that collaborates with environmental and Indigenous organizations to advocate for human rights, environmental preservation, and corporate accountability.
In 2021, NMAP received a grant of $3,556 from Global Greengrants Fund to provide direct financial support and personal and digital security assistance to an environmental defender under threat. This environmental defender is journalist who was beaten and attacked as a direct result of his reporting of environmental issues in the Albertine region. In his writing, the journalist denounced injustices linked to the illegal sale of Bugoma Forest and the risks posed by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project, which the Ugandan government aims to cover up. NMAP will use the funds to pay for medical expenses and debt repayment, equipment replacement, including a laptop and mobile android phone, and a security camera for personal security of the activist and his family.
As Robert and the other Ugandan youth activists call for accountability from the oil companies and Ugandan government, we stand in solidarity with their efforts. Worldwide, dirty development and natural resource extraction violates the rights of local people, Indigenous communities, and many others. These activities allow only a select few to profit while widely negatively affecting the health of both people and planet.
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