**6.2 Effect of oil and gas exploration and development on vegetation and wildlife**

Most of Uganda's oil and gas resources (and thus their exploration and development), are in the Albertine Graben region in the western part of the country, situated within the western arm of the East African Rift Valley at the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The graben stretches for about 500 km with an average width of 45 km covering a total area of approx. 23,000 sq. km [41].

Unfortunately, the Albertine Graben region is not only one of Uganda's richest biodiversity hotspots [41, 44] but the eco-region is the most important forest system in Africa for biodiversity [24]. The eco-region ranks first out of the 119 distinct terrestrial eco-regions of continental Africa in terms of endemic species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and second in terms of globally threatened species; there are around 567 endemic plant species" [45, 46]. Indeed, the graben reportedly has seven designated conservation (protect areas) and various eco-tourism attractions among which include the 45 m waterfall along the Victoria Nile River, 556 bird species, 144 different mammals that include endangered and rare species such as Rothschild's giraffe and tree climbing lions, 51 reptile species, 51 (28 and 23 known and unknown respectively) amphibian species.

The biodiversity in the area, and more especially wildlife, are very sensitive to oil and gas exploration and development. As observed by MacKeinze et al. [38], whereas oil exploration and development could take place within conservation areas (according to the Uganda Wildlife Statute 1996: Section 19(5)), the activities pose serious impacts on vegetation cover and wildlife in the Albertine Graben eco-region. Indeed, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), an agency mandated with management of conservation areas, the National Environment Management Authority, the agency mandated for environment management; and the communities in the region are cognizant of the negative impacts that up-steam and midstream oil and gas development activities have on wildlife [44, 47, 48].

One of the oil and gas exploration activities that affect biodiversity is the seismic surveying, that involves holes in the grounds into which dynamite or special vibrators that pump air or water into the ground. The associated seismic vibrations are reported to have caused migration of large mammals and fish, and impacted the breeding of wildlife [38, 40, 47, 49]. The most affected mammals are the elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and oribi [44] that have moved further (about 0.75–1 km) away from oil exploration (seismic drilling) sites (Wildlife Conservation Society of Uganda (WCS), [50]) showed that many big mammals have moved away to distances of about 750 to 1000 metres from seismic drilling, and seismic waves affect breeding and migratory patterns of fish. The migration of wildlife has impacts on tourism and fishing, which are prime socioeconomic activities for the communities in the Albertine Graben region.

The drilling and/or establishment of drilling pads is also a driver to wildlife migration (WCS, [50]) and is also linked to deforestation and the degradation of pristine vegetation cover and habitats [48, 50]. Habitat degradation is another driver to wildlife migration which has culminated into human-wildlife conflicts. Drilling pads cause habitat fragmentation which is another major factor leading to loss of biodiversity [48]. Besides, oil explorations is associated with increase noise resulting from drilling and road construction to the exploration sites that scares wildlife and forces it to migrate [40, 51–53], Indeed UNRA [53] recognizes the environmental impact of noise emanating from the construction of oil roads that negatively disrupted mammals and birds in the area.

The exploration and development processes require many workers that need to be accommodated which gives rise to settlements and other service provisioning. Therefore, oil companies have construction of workstations and more will come in future. These works stations have been constructed in remote and high vegetative areas which has caused deforestation and degradation, and Nnakayima [52] observes a decrease in tropical high and low forest, woodlands and grasslands in the areas caused up-stream oil and gas activities.

Oil spills from oil collection pits have been reported and more are expected as the oil development progresses [50]. These spills cause soil and water pollution there by affecting biodiversity and the livelihoods of many people in the region [40, 52].

*The Energy and Climate Change Nexus in Uganda: Policy Challenges and Opportunities… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99353*

Gas flaring is another activity that is linked to air pollution [54], with gases associated with gas flaring comprising carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxides, dioxin (CJP/ERA 2005), some of which are GHG that cause global warming and climate change. Besides the increased dissolution of these gases could form acid rainfall, which could scotch vegetation. During gas flaring, hazardous compounds that ensue from unburned fuel components such as benzene, toluene, xylene, and hydrogen sulphide, and the seepage of these compounds into the environment results in soil pollution, destruction of vegetation and water contamination which could causing death of wildlife that drink the water.

#### **6.3 Construction and infrastructure (pipeline, roads and airport)**

In April 2021, Uganda and Tanzania signed an agreement to jointly construct a 1,440 km crude oil pipeline to connect Uganda's oil fields in the Albertine region to Tanzania's seaport of Tanga on the Indian ocean [42]. The US\$ 3.55 bn East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is needed to transport crude-oil from the Albertine for export. Once completed, the pipeline will be able to transport 216,000 barrels of oil per day, and will be the world's longest electrically heated crude oil pipeline. The construction of the pipeline will necessitate acquisition of large expanses of land for construction camps (172 acres); pipeline Right of Way (RoW) and orphan land (2,745 acres); and feeder roads covering 182 acres. The pipeline runs through forests, dense vegetation covers, and protected areas and will therefore cause deforestation and land degradation. Indeed, the EACOP environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) shows that the pipeline construction would result in deforestation and forest degradation resulting in habitat fragmentation and wildlife disturbance and migration, and have significant impacts on wetlands that are vital sources of water for wildlife. For example, the proposed pipeline's right of way cuts through Bugungu Wildlife Reserve which is an important bird and key biodiversity area) in the Albertine Graben, [51, 55]. The deforestation and degradation of the vegetation cover which will result in loss of carbon sequestration potential, and thus will thus increase GHG emissions.

Although the new "oil roads" constructed in the Albertine region have improved access, jobs and incomes of communities [56], there have also been noticeable negative impacts. Road developments have increased access to pristine and remote high biodiversity hotspots, and caused land fragmentation that causes habitat fragmentation [57] and wildlife disturbance [40, 48]. Similarly, the increased accessibility has exacerbated illegal activities such as felling of trees, poaching and wildlife trafficking in the Albertine eco-region [52]. For example, the construction of the Kaiso-Tonya road has increased poachers' access to Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve as well as disturbance of wildlife, death of wildlife (knocked) along the road, as well as noise and air pollution [52].
