Ugandan Environmentalists Push for Community Control Over Lakes

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1259 EAT on Tuesday 6 January 2026

Environmental and climate justice groups have called on the Ugandan government to ensure that newly proposed lake landing site committees are genuinely community-led, transparent, and accountable. They warned that cosmetic reforms would not address long-standing abuses faced by fishing communities.

The call comes after President Yoweri Museveni issued a directive on 26 December to dissolve what he described as “abusive” lake landing site committees and establish new management structures.
The directive also proposed disbanding the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU), which has faced repeated accusations of rights violations against fisherfolk.

Fishing remains central to the culture, food security, and livelihoods of millions of Ugandans living around Lakes Victoria, Albert, and Kyoga—vital ecosystems that directly employ more than 1.3 million people across fishing and fish value chains.

An estimated seven million Ugandans rely on the country’s lakes for daily sustenance, and the sector remains a major source of foreign exchange. Yet activists say fishing communities continue to face environmental degradation, market instability, and human rights abuses—particularly in areas affected by large-scale oil and gas exploration and drilling.

In a joint statement, Climate Rights International and the Environment Governance Institute (EGI) said that abuses linked to oil operations by TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have compounded long-standing governance failures in lake management.

“We welcome the government’s announcement to disband the Fisheries Protection Unit and all landing site committees on Uganda’s lakes,” said Samuel Okulony, director of the Environment Governance Institute.

In October 2025, Climate Rights International and EGI published a report detailing how communities around the Kingfisher oil project along Lake Albert were subjected to military-enforced fees to access fishing grounds, faced arbitrary arrests, and had boats confiscated for alleged non-compliance.

The Kingfisher project is operated by CNOOC and jointly owned by CNOOC, TotalEnergies, and the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). Environmental and human rights groups said that despite formally writing to CNOOC to outline the allegations, they received no response.

Earlier, in September 2024, Climate Rights International released a 156-page report documenting widespread human rights violations linked to Uganda’s oil and gas developments.

The report cited coercive land acquisition, delayed or inadequate compensation, intimidation of critics, and restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.

In several cases, community members reported being pressured to accept compensation under threats of project delays, loss of livelihoods, or state intervention. Others who raised concerns said they faced harassment and reprisals.

The Observer: Climate Rights International and the Environment Governance Institute (EGI) have urged the Ugandan government to draw lessons from the Kingfisher project and embed enforceable human rights standards, genuine community consent, and independent oversight into the new governance framework for lake landing sites.

The groups called on the government to ensure that new landing site committees are formed through transparent, community-ratified processes reflecting the diversity of indigenous fishing populations. They also recommended establishing binding safeguards to protect community land rights, cultural heritage, and environmental integrity from undue investor influence.

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