WCS EIA Training:

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) carried out an EIA training mainly for the government officials which was very successful and got attended by people from ministries of environment, tourism, NEMA, Directorate of Water Resources Management, PEPD and others. Following this 3 day training at Serena (Jan 27-29th 2010), there was a field trip to Murchison Falls National Park for the team in order to consolidate and help relate the class work to the field. The field trip was conducted between Feb 3rd - 5th 2010. One of the main outcomes of the field work was that Tullow agreed to change on the way they were working on their pad preparation (Post by Carol Bogezi, WCS- Uganda).

Preconceived notions hurt advocacy:

Preconceived notions hurt advocacy:

"It's amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions." - Charles F. Kettering

Many of us in civil society involved in petroleum development usually go to the negotiating table of our government or private sector partners with already preconceived ideas about the outcomes, such as; “they usually don’t listen”; “they won’t take our advice seriously,” “they don’t have respect for us” “they treat values as secondary, their primary concern is profit”…the list goes on and on. This situation is a few times based on genuinely past experiences where these partners have demonstrated to us such tendencies.

However most of the time, these preconceived notions are only “a hunch”, based on nothing other than heresy, mere stories (genuine or false) that our fellow CSOs have communicated to us. Yes, we maybe ordinary, we may not have comparable financial or political power, but our different type of power is deeply rooted in those undeniable and unwavering values that unite us all. Whether you are in government or private sector, you don’t want to be a victim of corruption, you want to be trusted and deal with trusted partners, you would like your partners to be transparent and honest; you don’t want to spend your life running looking over your shoulder; instead you desire peace and good governance in your life, your home, community or nation. CSOs involved in petroleum development must therefore grow a culture of trust and faith that each time of negotiation, dialogue or interaction with government and private sector is different and comes with a different opportunity.

You may not have got the reception you wanted in the past, but things could have changed now; the hardened oil company officer or government agent you met that time could have moved on and in their place is now another officer who is willing to hear and consider your position seriously. However, if you approach each new circumstance with a vision darkened by your previous bad experiences, chances are that you are only going to turn another great opportunity into a missed chance. Yes, Charlse is right, "It's amazing what ordinary people (read CSOs) can do if they set out without preconceived notions."

Civil Society Coaltion on Oil in Uganda (CSCO):

A number of civil society organisations (CSO’s) are working to ensure positive outcomes of the recent oil discoveries in Uganda. These organisations are working both nationally and at a sub-regional level in oil-affected districts; focusing on a range of different issues of concern as described below; and using a number of different approaches, including research, advocacy, partnership approach, information dissemination and capacity building.

The coalition upholds the goal of the Oil and Gas Policy for Uganda (February 2008), which seeks to "ensure that the use of Uganda’s country’s oil and gas resources contributes to early achievement of poverty eradication and creates lasting value to society". Section 7.3 of Uganda’s Oil and Gas policy recognizes the important role civil society organizations play in ensuring responsible petroleum development particularly through their contribution in ensuring accountability and enabling the ‘voices of the poor’ to be heard.