Projects

731-i. Uganda Capacity Development

In 2009, the NCEA reviewed a Terms of Reference for an SEA for the oil and gas sector in Albertine Graben, as asked by Uganda's National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA). This has led to a number of other requests and capacity building activities by the NCEA, with emphasis on Uganda's oil and gas sector.

Significant details

Started: 2010

Process and activities

At the time of the NCEA's review of a ToR for the oil/gas sector SEA, there was no SEA legislation in Uganda. Instead, EIA legislation was considered applicable to plans and policies and was used for reviewing the ToR. In practice, EIA was not usually applied to planning, and there was no experience with environmental assessment for plans and policies in Uganda. 

Discussions between NEMA and the NCEA then led to the following capacity building activities:

  • A high-level scoping workshop for the SEA for oil/gas development in Albertine Graben;
  • A technical SEA workshop on oil and gas;
  • An SEA training programme for the Ugandan Association of Impact Assessment (UAIA) and the World Conservation Society (WCS);
  • A two-day EIA mapping workshop upon request of NEMA.

In these activities, the NCEA collaborated with the Norwegian Oil for Development Programme.

In 2012 and 2013, the NCEA also performed independent quality reviews of the SEA inception report, interim report, and final draft report. Moreover, it commented on a ToR for the agricultural sector in Uganda. See the right side of this page for more information.

Results

The NCEA's activities have led to an improved SEA capacity within NEMA and other governmental bodies related to the oil/gas sector in Uganda. Thereby they have improved the quality of SEAs in Uganda. The EIA mapping has contributed to a better understanding of the EIA legal system and given insight in opportunities for improvement.

Follow-up

During a meeting in 2013, NEMA requested a 1-week training from the NCEA, similar to the training given to UAIA in 2011. This training could be linked to follow-up activities related to the Albertine Graben SEA.

Parties involved

Members of the working group

Technical secretary: Ineke Steinhauer

Further details

Country: Uganda


Last modified: 12 Apr 2019