WHAT ARE THE GLOBAL CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES TO
THE ENVIRONMENT?
By Ms Sarah Bireete
Director of Programmes
Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG)
A- Definitions:
Environment
means the complex set of physical, geographic, biological, social, cultural and
political conditions that surround an individual or organism and that
ultimately determines its form and nature of its survival.
Ecosystem
means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and
their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit.
Climate change means a change of climate which is attributed
directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the
global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable time periods.
Hazardous waste means a waste which, because of its quantity,
concentration, or characteristics, may be hazardous to human health or the
environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed.
Natural resources means renewable and non renewable resources,
tangible and non tangible, such as minerals, climate, soil, water, flora and
fauna.
Ozone layer
means the layer of atmospheric ozone above the planetary boundary layer.
B - Law Applicable:
1. The
Environment Act (EA)
2. NEMA Act (National Environmental Management
Act)
3. Protocol on Environmental and Natural
Resources- EAC
4. The Kyoto Protocol - The United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992
C
- Common Law Principle on environmental damage:
The "Rule in Rylands v Fletcher"; that
"the person who for his own purpose brings on his lands and collects and
keeps there anything likely to do mischief, if it escapes, must keep it in at his
peril, and if he does not do so, is prima facie answerable for all the
damage which is the natural consequence of its escape".
This doctrine was
further developed by English courts, and made an immediate impact on the law.
Prior to Rylands, English courts had not based their decisions in
similar cases on strict liability and had
focused on the intention behind the actions rather than the nature of the
actions themselves. In contrast, Rylandsimposed strict liability on
those found detrimental in such a fashion without having to prove a duty of
care or negligence, which brought the law into line with that relating to
public reservoirs and marked a significant doctrinal shift. Academics have
criticised it, however, both for the economic damage such a doctrine could
cause and for its limited applicability.
The exception to the rule in Fletcher’s case on
damaging the environment – is the act of God.
But
what happens if the act of god is provoked by man’s actions like deforestation,
bush burning, dumping, radioactivity, mineral refining, etc that have resulted
into unpredictable weather changes, flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires,
etc?
Global warming and the tipping point:
This is the hottest decade on record in Africa
- Read “To cook a continent - destructive extraction and the climate crisis in
Africa" by Nimmo Bassey, which raises the need for a bidding agreement; bridging
the emissions gap and fundamental transformation among others.
Issues:
-
How can we pursue Africa’s climate justice?
-
Who is producing the carbon emissions and why
should Africa pay the price?
-
The US and China and other developing
countries have destroyed the environment and they should pay environment
reparations to Africa
-
How best can Africa develop/ industrialize but
at the same time maintain its eco system balance- the mabira forest debate?
Cascading negative effects of global warming -
Rising temperatures, increasing warm spells
and decreased number of cold nights, continued decreases in precipitation, impacts
on hydrological systems, increased desertification, disasters of increasing
frequency and intensity, effects on agricultural productivity, etc
The big question
here is: How can we control the damage?
Like
Archibishop Desmond Tutu put it "Condeming Africa to an
incineration". Look at whats happening in the extractive industries,
refineries, dumping, oil spills, deforestation, forest burning, etc.
Global warming requires earth democracy:
The right to live and exist, the right to be
respected, the right to re-generate its bio capacity and to continue its vital
cycles and processes free of human alteration, the right to clean water as a
source of life, the right to clean air and the right to comprehensive health.
Climate change requires system change. Like Amilcar
Cabral put it "And in our time, with the progressive democratization of
atomic energy, it is possible to promise, if not take men to the stars, at
least to humanize the universe."
Conclusion:
What environmental challenges are we faced
with as a country - taking into consideration upstream and downstream petroleum
activities (challenges with our new found black gold – oil)?
It’s important to note that the activities in
the sector will have a profound and long lasting impact on the environment.
Environmental Impact Assessments is a legal requirement for any investment
plans/programmes in Uganda. The EIA so far carried out on oil have fundamental
flaws yet pollution is one of the major
effects of oil exploration and production. Whereas the already existing
legislation on the environment have capacities to control pollution during oil
exploration, it is reported that local people are already affected by the
strong bad smell from the mud pits that are dug during oil exploration and
moreover the mud pits have been deposed properly.
The current EIA reports have no mitigation
measures and monitoring for the identified impacts; they lacks a comprehensive
environmental management plans to deal with biodiversity, air quality, water,
fisheries, wastes, oil spills and pollution, affected communities, tourism;
there is no Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment and yet a number of oil
drilling sites; limited public participation; and most documents such as EIA
reports are written in English an official language and yet some Ugandans
especially in rural areas cannot read it.
There is need to:
§ Put in place the health and Safety Measures.Health
and safety measures are crucial in oil exploration and production because the activities
are dangerous to people.
The Oil and
Gas Policy makes provisions for protection against
activities that affect health but with limited
specialized institutions/capacity to handle petroleum management issues.
Shortage of skilled of personnel in the field of petroleum geo-sciences,
petroleum negotiation skills and limited local participation in the petroleum
and gas industry activities.
These specific concerns must be addressed to
their logical conclusion especially considering the fact that the oil region in
western Uganda is a key ecological area.
PROMOTE
EARTH DEMOCRACY FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE AND A HEALTHY LIVING.
