Safeguarding community livelihoods in Uganda

Abstract

The acceleration of oil development in Uganda has led the central government to facilitate land taking in ways that challenge existing national policy and the rights of communities to protect their land resources. This chapter analyses the development and implications of a country land acquisition and resettlement policy in Uganda. We assess the potential for a national policy to create more democratic space for local communities by empowering them through safeguards, entitlements, tools and resources. In the short term, the policy process can create a space for national discussion, debate and stakeholder consultation on land ownership specifically, and on development strategies and directions more generally. In the long term, the best way to protect the environmental and social rights is to build on countries’ existing legal and regulatory frameworks, not design safeguards to allow lenders and borrowers to avoid them. Uganda provides an excellent case study for understanding how government, corporations and other stakeholders can respond to pressures from citizens and civil society actors – in ways that protect the interests of those local communities directly impacted by development.