Strengthening Environmental Management and Reducing Pollution Risks from the Oil and Gas Sector in Uganda

In 2017, UNEP undertook an institutional capacity needs assessment (CNA) to evaluate environmental governance and management within the oil and gas sector in Uganda and developed a draft CNA report. An update to this report was initiated in 2022 to review the current capacity development priorities related to environmental management in the present context of oil and gas development and other emerging priorities in Uganda. In this report, UNEP revisits, reviews, and updates the findings of the 2017 draft report. This updated report aims to support the Government of Uganda in assessing and prioritizing its environmental capacity challenges by providing a strategic roadmap for addressing institutional capacity development to both reduce pollutions risks and strengthen environmental governance and management in Uganda’s oil and gas sector. The update was carried out from 2022-2023 and included virtual meetings, two in-country fact-finding consultations and a field visit to the Albertine Graben region, follow-up surveys and questionnaires, and a national validation workshop. This report focuses on four main thematic areas that were identified and prioritized through multistakeholder consultations:

1. Emissions and discharges: related to air emissions, produced water management, water use and wastewater discharges, hazardous chemicals, and waste management.
2. Acute pollution risks: related to oil spill management and transboundary response mechanisms.
3. Potential impacts on biodiversity from oil and gas activities in environmentally sensitive and protected areas: related to impacts on biodiversity and tourism.
4. Capacity of district local government functionaries to implement their mandates on environmental governance.