An oil project in the Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) in Uganda will have a devasting impact on biodiversity, with a number of grave consequences for wildlife and local communities already ongoing, a study has found.

The study, released on Friday by the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), mapped TotalEnergy’s Tilenga oil project infrastructure development activities in one of the country’s oldest and largest parks, which involves the drilling of hundreds of oil wells.

Drilling activities started last year, ahead of an expected start of oil production in the East African country in 2025. Since then, the French oil company has faced resistance from environmental protection groups and green energy campaigners, who say the Tilenga project, partly located in a national park, and a planned crude oil export pipeline are a disaster for the planet.

Leveraging satellite images taken over February and May, the newly-published study assessed the impact and the risks to biodiversity conservation associated with the oil rigs, well pads, pipelines, and roads in various stages of development.

Researchers say two out of the 10 wellpads being constructed for oil extraction in the area are ‘too close’ to the Murchison Falls-Albert Delta Ramsar site, a wetland crucial for the conservation of several vulnerable bird species, including the shoebill.

The same threat to the Ramsar site is posed by the Victoria Nile Pipeline Crossing, the latter pipeline under development, which is planned to be constructed under the Victoria Nile.

Source: Earth Insight

“The Tilenga oil project activities in MFNP are concentrated in the Northern sector which hosts more populations of wildlife than the park’s Southern sector,” the organisation said in a statement.

“The Northern sector largely consists of savanna grasslands, whose conservation status has increasingly captured global attention due to the degradation faced by the grasslands. The concentration of oil project infrastructure in the sector endangers the conservation of wildlife and savanna grasslands.”

Furthermore, the construction of roads in the park has raised the conservation risks for wildlife such as antelopes, elephants, hippos, giraffes, and others, as the roads ease access to the park by poachers.

“Worth noting is that the population of hippopotami in the park is on the decline due to poaching and climate-change-induced floods that destroyed hippo habitats and breeding grounds for crocodiles, especially in 2020 and 2021,” AFIEGO said.

Other risks include habitat loss, reduced food availability for small and large herbivores relying on the savanna grassland, and the spread of invasive species.

The map has been developed in partnership with Earth Insight, a research group that maps threats before they become reality. Last month, the organisation released similar work on how a recently approved exploration permit in the Republic of Congo’s Conkouati-Douli National Park poses considerable risks to tropical forests, endangered species, and communities who live in the area.

ONGOING IMPACTS

According to the study, infrastructure projects in MFNP have already started to impact species such as elephants. The vibrations from the oil rig are increasingly leading them to leave their habitats, causing fatalities in the surrounding community areas, researchers reported.

“Oil host communities that live around the park report that elephants are moving from MFNP and are invading communities,” the study said.

“The elephants destroy croplands and as many as five people were killed by the elephants between 2023 and April 2024.”

Researchers from AFIEGO also noted that the increasing human activities in the park are already threatening other species, such as waterbucks, bushbucks, and reedbucks.

The MFPA is home to 755 plant and over 800 animal species, including mammals, birds, and reptiles – 32 of them classified as endangered or vulnerable.

To support conservation efforts, the study called on TotalEnergies and the Ugandan government to stop all oil exploitation activities in MFNP and to address ongoing risks and impacts such as poaching and human-wildlife conflicts.

By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com

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