WHAT ARE THE GLOBAL CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES TO OUR ENVIRONMENT?

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.