as a technical officer he [the Hoima District Forestry. Officer] views the district's ... the boundaries between public and private interests are seemingly blurred. The.
Population growth and deforestation in the Lake Albert region (Uganda) at the start of oil production Valérie Golaz (INED, Paris, France, LPED UMR 151 Aix-Marseille Université – IRD), Fredrick Kisekka-Ntale (DRASPAC , Kampala, Uganda), Claire Médard (IRD, Paris, France, URMIS UMR 205 Universités Paris Diderot et Nice-Sophia antipolis – CNRS – IRD) and the MPRAM team
Forest and nature reserves were created in Bunyoro kingdom following the demographic crisis of the late 19th century and early 20th century with European contact and political marginalization during early colonisation (Doyle, 2000). Today, the Albertine Rift is considered as a biodiversity hotspot, from Murchison Park, North, to the Ruwenzori mountains, South, along the escarpment of lake Albert. Though vital for the sustainability of rural economies and mitigation of climate change, forests and wetlands are slowly disappearing and being converted into agricultural land while trees are turned into charcoal for the national/urban market (Rep. of Uganda, 2010).
Though climate variability is a factor of change locally, the main issue shaping resource depletion in the Albertine Rift, in the short run, is governance. At a time when it is becoming increasingly important to regulate their use in order to alleviate poverty , resources are grabbed deepening inequalities in a context of rapid population growth. Methodology
Fig. 1. The Lake Albert region
Population densities and growth are assessed on the basis of detailed mapping using population census results in Hoima and Masindi districts from 1980 to 2002. 2014 provisional census results are also taken into account when possible. Findings are interpreted in the light of conflicting political and administrative norms and practices documented in the press and qualitative interviews conducted in 2012-2014 in a collaborative research framework (M-PRAM). I. Fast growing population
Table 1. Population growth rates
Often vulnerable as migrants, new comers are highly dependent on political protection. Political and administrative leaders act in somewhat contradictory ways: while some serve as intermediaries for allocating land even in protected areas, others discourage settlement; shifts are also noticeable with the new focus on oil. Since the 1990s, political patronage and conflicting prerogatives of governmental bodies (the administration, the army, the forestry and wildlife services, etc.) shape access to land and natural resources locally. State regulation is defined here as a legal framework as well as unwritten rules and practices, networks, negotiations, threats and the actual use of force. We are invited to consider socially accepted and unaccepted practices (Blundo and Olivier de Sardan, 2007). Looking at State regulations and norms we may also question whether officials are acting in their administrative/public capacity or in their private capacity? There is a thin line between what is considered ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’: some deals are ‘illegal’ even though they were ‘authorised’, thus officially sanctioned.
The lake Albert region is facing growing population pressure: over the last two decades, growth rates in this area were above the national average. Population growth is strongly shaped by in migration, with annual rates of over 5% in 1991-2002 in the whole region (Table 1)
Large differences are found in patterns of growth, depending on time and place, in relation to localised refugee settlements urbanisation and agricultural frontiers around forest reserves and other protected areas
Fig 2. Population Growth (1980 parishes) 1980-1991
1991- 2002
Since the 1990s, mi1980 2002 1991 grants came as refugees (from Rwanda, DRC and Sudan) and were temporarily settled on agricultuFig 3. Population Densities, inhabitants/sq.km (1980 parishes) ral land inside camps. Some also came and settled in their own capacity, Panyadoli RS in search for new land for cultivation, new pastures and fishing grounds, Lake shore sometimes fleeing their place of origin without being registered as refugees or Kyangwali RS Hoima and Masindi town councils internally displaced Fig 4. Population Densities (2002 parishes) people (the civil war in Northern Uganda lasted up to 2004 and forced many to flee). Others just came looking for better economic opportunities, like migrants from Southern Uganda in search for land. From 2005, oil exploration started attracting different types of migrants. Since then, roads were built, opening up the region; the construction of more infrastructure is projected (refinery, pipelines). Oil production has not yet started and further delays are expected with a volatile oil market. For now, in terms of population growth, the impact of the oil frontier is not as visible as the impact of migration for land, with the exception of small towns. Locally, the majority of inhabitants still depend on agriculture and fishing for their livelihoods. Already land speculation is reshaping access to grazing and farmland. © VG 2014
References Blundo, G. and J. P. Olivier de Sardan, 2007, Everyday Corruption and the State. Citizens and Public Officials in Africa, London, Zed Books, 298p. Doyle S., 2006, Crisis and decline in Bunyoro. Population and environment in Western Uganda, 1855-1960, Oxford, James Currey, 276p. Médard C. and Golaz V., 2013, “Creating dependency: land and gift-giving practices in the 2011 elections in Uganda”, Journal of Eastern African Studies,7(3), p.549-568. Republic of Uganda, 2010, Environmental Audit, Office of the Auditor General, Uganda, 29p.
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II. Vulnerable migrants, political protection and electoral cycles of deforestation
Different State-backed institutions play a central role in the management of forests: - Territorial administration from the lowest to the highest levels: from chief or ‘chairman’ elected as head of Local Council (LC) at different levels (LC1 for locations, LC3 for divisions, LC5 for districts), to President (‘M7’) Within local government (LC3 and 5 levels) two systems, an elected one and a nominated one, run parallel. Elected leaders need popular support, nominated leaders need presidential backing and their direct interests differ or concur accordingly. - Sectorial administration: Ministry of Water and Environment, Ministry for Lands, etc. - Governmental bodies for parks Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), for forests National forest Authority (NFA) and for the environment National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). - The Bunyoro Kingdom, a cultural institution backed by Central Government, owner of some forest reserves There are conflicts within and in between State backed institutions Different types of rent-seeking practices take place locally, from extracting rent in forms of official taxes or unofficial fees to extracting natural resources at no or reduced costs or benefiting from such activity through office. For instance, in 2011, opposite interests appeared clearly in the debate about “[…] as a technical officer he [the Hoima District Forestry Officer] views the district's decision to tender out charcoal who should be responsible for licensing as a disservice to the environment since regulation collecting license fees for charcoal would be impossible.” (Uganda Radio Network, 5 Feb. 2011) production. During electoral campaigns, some leaders vying for a reelection are keen to protect illegal use of forest reserves in order to secure votes, which results in a cycle of forest
encroachment in the run-up to elections and often violent evictions following elections (Médard and Golaz, 2013). The direct and personal intervention of the Presi“As leaders we have power of giving out land to somebody” Elected Hoima official, 20/12/2012 “There […] land is like a business for the local leadership it is a source of power” Nominated Hoima official, 25/07/2012 “Kisindi Sector Manager accuses the local leaders of double standard. […] says the local leaders often times appear as supporting NFA’s cause and later turn around to urge the encroachers in the name of protecting their votes. […] But […] the Kabwoya LC3 Chairman denies any role in the allocation of land in the reserves and instead accuses some NFA officials of being corrupt. ” (Uganda Radio Network, 16 Feb. 2012) National Forest Authority
elected local government
dent at the local level acts in favour of a specific target groups and / or sidelines another group such as ‘migrant’ pastoralists. The key role of local government in the redistribution of protected forest land, seen as a land reserve, was noted by government officials. An LC3 was accused of organising encroachment on forests and allowing settlement (for instance in Bugoma). Yet local leaders also point at the corruption of forest administration.
Conclusion Lake Albert region is still considered as an agricultural frontier where access to land depends more and more on political protection. Grabbing of land and forest resources point at rent-seeking practices for financial or electoral gain. In every day government, the boundaries between public and private interests are seemingly blurred. The conversion of forests into agricultural land despite official protection illustrates in a way how rent-seeking practices are part of ‘institutional regulation’. Conflicting norms and practices within government raise the issue of the legitimacy of public intervention. To manage forests following an electoral cycle is disastrous both for the protection of Human Rights and for the protection of forests and biodiversity.
Multi disciplinary team on Poverty, Resource Accessibility and spatial Mobility in East Africa
