The Feasibility of Attaining Sustainable Development of Uganda’s Oil and Gas Industry:

Abstract

The feasibility of attaining sustainable development of Uganda ‘s oil and gas industry was carried out through an analysis of the policy, legal, institutional and regulatory framework on environmental sustainability. The current environmental practices and regulatory approaches in Uganda ‘s oil and gas industry have many shortfalls in comparison with regional and international framework on sustainable oil and gas exploration, development and production. The environmental sustainability in the oil and gas industry was studied based on the theories of sustainable development through environmental law involving the deterrence theory and the citizen enforcement theory which aim at protecting the nature, natural resources and total context within which they exist. The study examined the national, regional and international legal framework to ascertain the extent to which these theories are reflected and the shortfalls that need to be corrected to crystallize environmentally sustainable oil and gas exploration and production in Uganda. It is recommended that to provide environmental sustainability, Uganda should promote ―smart growth‖ through proper land use and alignment of the economy with nature‘s regeneration capacity by adopting appropriate production and consumption practices that are fully aligned with the environmental ecological processes; Uganda should adhere to and strictly implement the National Environment Act 2019; the law should provide for a compensation regime for victims of pollution or any losses resulting from poor management of petroleum operations, in particular the unforeseeable long-term damages on the environment and human health; and the law should promote international cooperation between Uganda and her neighbors in the field of the environment sustainability among others. Future research should be done on the sustainability of the new livelihood strategies adopted by the project affected persons and their effect on the environment as well as environmental compliance in Uganda ‘s oil and gas sector.