In a recent engagement with grassroots women in Buliisa district with Women on Environment Mission, they disparaged loss of property due to flash floods from construction sites. Floods from Central Processing Facility (CPF), NGR 01, KAS 01, GNA 01 and along access roads in Avogera and Kisomere villages are damages crops and houses, community water sources like boreholes, open water sources and valley dams. Floods have also blocked path ways/ foot paths connecting to homes and gardens.
There is no clear drainage plan from Total and the local authorities have not helped at all. Women remain the most affected by these floods causing a lot of losses to their livelihoods and wellbeing. In some areas assessments were done but no compensation was done for the damages. All these are due to oil and gas activities stimulating climate change impacts in Buliisa district.
Loss of property and livelihoods from establishment of roads which could pass through gardens and grazing lands. Animals move along distance in search of water and pasture and have been knocked by Tilenga project vehicles most times and never compensated. Lower Buliisa has been a grazing area however oil and gas developments have ignored this aspect.
Also there is damage of property due to cracks from vibrations from trucks at construction sites. Construction of access roads and well pads in Kirama, Avogera and Uribo villages has led to cracks in houses due to vibrations from heavy trucks, rollers and excavators, these concerns have been ignored by Total Energies and her Contractors. Women live in fear that houses could collapse and fall on them anytime and also be attacked by wild animals and insects at night through the cracks.
To add on that, there is increasing rates of gender based violence; Men have abandoned their homes thus many female and child headed homes in Buliisa now. Girls and women have become bread provides as men spend all their time in oil and gas camps and sites, at the end they don’t return any money back home but end up in prostitution and alcoholism whenever they get there work leaves. Many homes have broken up, this has been coupled with increasing rates of school dropout’s especially girls who end up into early marriages . Women are hardly considered for these oil jobs thus discrimination in employment opportunities.
Feminists are therefore calling up local and national women led grass root organizations, PAU ,JV partners and CSO’s to build the capacity of women project affected persons at community level to enable them identify , report or mitigate climate change impacts due to fossil fuels.
Also Government should conduct an independent evaluation on floods and cracks and Total Energies should conduct an immediate investigation and report of women concerns of floods and cracked houses as a result of fossil fuels financing in Buliisa district, the report findings should be disseminated to the public for transparency purposes. Development against women is not good development thus should be halted or stopped.
There is urgent need to profiling and documenting women and girls impacted by climate change in Buliisa district in areas where oil and gas developments are taking place, covering aspects of early and forced marriages, school drop outs rates, unemployed women and girls with qualifications who try to seek for employment in the oil and gas industry, women and girls victims of gender based violence.
There should be strengthening and recognizing local women led movements/groups/associations to champion the feminist approach on climate justice through sensitizations and awareness campaigns in Buliisa district through partnership and networking with women grass roots movements , ministry of gender labor and social development, UWOPA, NGO’s and CBO’s , coalitions Buliisa district local government and many more.
Lastly women in Buliisa need trainings on local and international land laws on climate financing, climate justice, green developments thus Total Energies and her Contractors must always comply the regulative frameworks such as sustainable development goal 5 on Gender Equality and 13 on climate Action .
Sarah Kihembo- Women on Environment Mission Uganda.
