Topic: access to information

RELEASE: 14 Latin American and Caribbean Countries Adopt an Ambitious Plan of Action to Improve Access Rights in the Region

Lauren Zelin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:17:15 -0400

Fourteen Latin American and Caribbean countries adopted an ambitious Plan of Action to improve access rights in the region, including access to information, public participation, and access to justice. The plan, which was approved at a meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico, on April 16-17, 2013, seeks to implement the Latin American and Caribbean Declaration on Principle 10 that was signed at the Rio +20 Conference in June 2012, under which countries agreed to work towards a regional instrument to improve access rights.

The meeting began with Colombia and Honduras signing on to the LAC Declaration, a major accomplishment for all parties. The 14 countries that have now signed on include: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

“The new Plan of Action shows political will to transform environmental justice and transparency in the region,” said Carole Excell, Senior Associate at the World Resources Institute and The Access Initiative. “It sets the pace and the agenda to tackle the challenges of negotiating a regional instrument to ensure access rights across Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Under the new 2013-2014 Plan of Action, the LAC countries have committed to:

Promote the Principle 10 Declaration and incorporate new signatories into the process;
Strengthen and highlight the progress made on rights of access to information, participation, and justice;
Promote active participation of civil society at the national level; and
Develop working groups to deliberate capacity-building and cooperation efforts, and determine the nature and scope of the regional instrument.

Ambassador Jose Balmaceda of Chile noted that the Plan of Action “is a strong political signal to the international community that we are responding in a responsible way to this commitment [to Principle 10] … It is the first time that government representatives from 14 countries and civil society sat down to debate – with transparency and trust – relevant issues for the future of the region. This is a testament to maturity in the region. We have been able to reach consensus on the Plan of Action that will allow us to move ahead on national processes and regional efforts. I am sure that this result will motivate other nations in the region to join the process.”

The Plan of Action includes a number of innovative provisions, including procedures for public participation in the regional process and its working groups. It will create opportunities for close South-to-South cooperation on rights to promote transparency, public participation, and access to justice, as well as a focus on increased support for effective implementation at the national level.

“We hope at the end of 2014 we can count on the development of an instrument on Principle 10 that establishes concrete actions to guarantee effective and informed participation to all citizens and communities of our region,” said Daniel Barragan, Ecuadorian Center for Environmental Law (Centro Ecuatoriane de Derecho Ambinental Ambiental), an environmental law NGO. “Soon we can have a voice and be a part of the decision making on the environment and natural resources.”

In addition to adopting the Plan of Action, members elected co-chairs to run the working groups. Costa Rica and Brazil were mandated to design the regional instrument on Principle 10 and Jamaica and Columbia were given the role to facilitate work on cooperation and capacity building.

RELEASE: Caribbean Freedom of Information Network launched at Landmark Conference

Lauren Zelin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:55:32 -0400

11 Caribbean Countries Meet to Discuss Freedom of Information Laws in the Region

For the first time, Caribbean governments and civil society have come together to discuss access to information, public participation in governance, and access to justice at a landmark conference held in Kingston, Jamaica. Representatives from 11 Caribbean countries attended the “Regional Conference on Freedom of Information in the Caribbean: Improving Management for the Environment.”

At the close of the two-day conference on March 21, 2013, governments, civil society, and media announced the decision to launch a Caribbean network on freedom of information to support processes to improve standards for access to information in the region.

Dr. Carolyn Gomes, chairperson of the Access to Information Advisory Stakeholders’ Committee and Executive Director of Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) said, “freedom of information is the most powerful tool for ordinary citizens to arm themselves with the information they need to change their lives. Launching this freedom of information network will build opportunities for collaboration, learning and capacity building among information commissioners, civil society and media across the region.”

Countries reviewed the status and effectiveness of freedom of information laws, the number of requests for information being made in each country, and institutional structures for implementation and enforcement. Jamaica is one of seven Caribbean countries (Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Cayman Islands) to have freedom of information laws in force. Five countries have draft laws pending, and Bahamas and Guyana have passed laws but they are not yet in force. Gaps in implementation were noted in Belize, Antigua, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, which have laws that have not yet fully been utilized by the public.

“Freedom of information laws ensure that citizens can access official documents from their governments and gives them a voice in decisions that directly impact them and the environment,” said Danielle Andrade, Legal Director of the Jamaica Environment Trust. “Using Jamaica’s Access to Information Act, we were able to obtain documents to build our legal case to compel the government to fix a non-functioning sewage treatment plant in Harbour View, Kingston.”

The event was a follow-up to the Rio+20 sustainable development conference in May of 2012, where ten countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) signed a declaration to work towards a legally binding, regional instrument to promote the implementation of the rights of access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters. Jamaica was the first Caribbean country to sign the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Declaration on Principle 10, and Trinidad and Tobago joined in 2013.

“The LAC Principle 10 regional declaration is a game changing opportunity for the region,” said Carole Excell, Senior Associate at the World Resources Institute. “Caribbean governments need to embrace new regional approaches that seek to improve transparency, reduce conflicts over environmental decisions, and build capacity to implement new rights for citizens.”

Michelle Fife, Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines stated, “this is a positive initiative which brings the region together on an important issue. Transparency is important to our government. With continued work we will build and strengthen our institutional capacity to improve access to information.”

The conference was funded by The Commonwealth Foundation, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Information Commissioner’s Office of the Cayman Islands. Organizers included the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), World Resources Institute (WRI), The Access Initiative (TAI), Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), The Mona School of Business and Management, and the Access to Information Unit of Jamaica.

Interactive Forest Atlas of Cameroon (version 3.0)

Sarah Parsons — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:20:28 -0400

The Interactive Forest Atlas of Cameroon is a living forest information system hosted in the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) and supported by a joint team including members from MINFOF and the World Resources Institute (WRI). Built on a geographic information system (GIS) platform, the Atlas provides unbiased and up-to-date information on the Cameroonian forest sector. One of its main objectives is to strengthen forest management and land use planning by bringing all major land use categories onto the same standardized platform. While the underlying Forest Atlas database is kept up-to-date as new information becomes available, periodic publications of the data and database are made publicly available through the Atlas report, poster, and mapping application.

This report and associated material is the third in a series of Interactive Forest Atlases of Cameroon. It provides the reader with the land use allocation and land cover types in the National Forest Estate through June 2011, recent trends in production forests, and an expanded discussion of recent developments with community forests. Updated information on protected areas and the public and private road network is also featured, along with preliminary information about mining concessions likely to affect Cameroon’s forests. Additionally, this report highlights several practical examples of its uses and outlines future directions and applications of the Atlas.

À PROPOS DE CETTE PUBLICATION

L’Atlas forestier interactif du Cameroun est un système d’information forestière opérant en continu hébergé par le Ministère des Forêts et de la Faune (MINFOF) et géré par une équipe conjointe composée de représentants du MINFOF et du World Resources Institute (WRI). Basé sur le Système d’Information Géographique (SIG), l’Atlas fournit des informations objectives et actualisées sur le secteur forestier camerounais. L’un des objectifs principaux de l’Atlas est celui de renforcer la gestion forestière et la planification de l’affectation des terres en réunissant sur une plate-forme unique les principales catégories d’affectation. L’équipe conjointe MINFOF-WRI actualise la base de données de l’Atlas forestier au fur et à mesure que de nouvelles informations deviennent disponibles et les publie périodiquement sous formes de rapport, posters et application cartographique.

Le présent rapport représente la troisième version de la série d’Atlas forestiers interactifs du Cameroun. Il fournit au lecteur des informations sur les affectations et les types d’occupation des terres dans le Domaine Forestier National jusqu’au mois de juin 2011. Il donne également un aperçu sur les tendances récentes de l’évolution des forêts de production, ainsi que des développements récents dans le domaine de la foresterie communautaire. Il offre en plus les données actualisées sur les aires protégées et le réseau routier public et privé, et donne de façon subsidiaire des informations préliminaires sur les concessions minières susceptibles d’empiéter sur le domaine forestier. En fin, ce rapport met en exergue des exemples pratiques d’utilisation de l’Atlas et donne un aperçu de ses orientations et applications futures.

Case Study: Information Use in Nepal's National Adaptation Programme of Action

Sarah Parsons — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:14:36 -0400

Nepal is passing through a turbulent period of transition, reorganizing its internal political boundaries, establishing a federal structure, and changing the very nature of the national government. Since 2008, Nepal’s priorities have been dominated by these political imperatives, a post-conflict peace process, and attempts to integrate Maoist ex-insurgents into the national mainstream. This dynamic presents numerous challenges for the government in seeking to meet the country’s development and environmental needs. Climate change adds extra stress to these needs in the form of heightened weather variability, extreme events, and other impacts on the country’s natural and social systems.

This case study is part of a series under the World Resources Institute project, Information for Climate Adaptation in South Asia: Identifying User Needs. Each of the case studies in this set explores an aspect of information use in adaptation decision making. The goals of this series are two-fold:

Provide insights into how information (such as climate projections, stakeholder interviews, and environmental monitoring) can be used to support adaptation decisions; and
Guide investments by national governments and their development partners in information systems that can inform decision making around risks related to climate change.

This case study series was supported by the UK Department for International Development. Case study authors used the same framework of guiding questions for their research, which consisted of literature reviews and interviews.

Case Study: Communicating Modeled Information for Adaptation Decision Making

Sarah Parsons — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:30:27 -0400

The HighNoon project, which began in 2009, set out to assess the impact Himalayan glacier retreat and expected changes in the Indian summer monsoon on the distribution of water resources in Northern India. The project’s aim was “to recommend appropriate and efficient response strategies to enable adaptation to hydrological extreme events.” The project used information from scenarios generated by regional climate and hydrological models and integrated it with stakeholder perspectives to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies. This case study examines the HighNoon project in order to explore how adaptation-relevant information can best be packaged and disseminated to different users and audiences at the state, district, and block levels.

This case study is part of a series that fall under the World Resources Institute project, Information for Climate Adaptation in South Asia: Identifying User Needs. Each of the case studies in this set explores an aspect of information use in adaptation decision making. The goals of this series are two-fold:

Provide insights into how information (such as climate projections, stakeholder interviews, and environmental monitoring) can be used to support adaptation decisions; and
Guide investments by national governments and their development partners in information systems that can inform decision making around risks related to climate change.

Information for Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons and Needs in South Asia

Sarah Parsons — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:21:39 -0400

Ideally, adaptation information will be tailored to meet the needs of individual information users. However, in many cases, information is supply-driven, shaped in large part by the interests of researchers and the limited data available to them. In these cases, it’s oftentimes challenging for users to access, understand, and apply the information available to them. To support effective adaptation over the long term, improved systems for producing, managing, using, disseminating, and learning from information in South Asia are needed. Significant new capacities will likely need to be developed to meet these needs.

This paper served as background for a South Asian regional workshop, which brought together adaptation information users and producers, as well as climate change experts. The workshop aimed to inform likely new investments in the information base for climate adaptation. Convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Development Alternatives, with support from the UK Department for International Development, the workshop intended to identify:

priorities for information investment,
opportunities for improving information use, and
mechanisms for deepening dialogue between information users and producers in the region.

This paper aimed to support progress toward these workshop objectives by:

identifying barriers to effective information production, access, and application in the South Asian region;
posing a practical vocabulary for characterizing relevant information types;
articulating a concise set of uses for adaptation information; and
raising a set of critical issues around which to frame workshop discussions.

The paper draws on desk and interview research conducted by WRI from November 2011 through February 2012, as well as feedback obtained from a roundtable event held on the margins of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties-17 in Durban, South Africa.

Vulnerability and Adaptation: Information

Kevin Lustig — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:30:03 -0400

What information can best support effective decision-making under climate uncertainty? How should information be “packaged” so that governments and citizens can use it effectively? WRI is working to improve the information base for innovative decision-making strategies within a context of climatic uncertainty. Our work ensures that decision-makers – from small-scale farmers, to city mayors, to national-level ministers – have the information they need to take action against climate risks.

Project: Adapting to Climate Uncertainty in South Asia

Key Resources

Case Study: Applying Information for Agricultural Adaptation in India
Case Study: Communicating Modeled Information for Adaptation in India
Case Study: Information Use in Nepal’s NAPA
Working Paper: Information for Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons and Needs in South Asia
Information for Adaptation Regional Workshop Materials

Governments, business and citizens in South Asia all need access to good information to make wise decisions in a changing climate. However, the uncertainty of climate change impacts, the complex drivers of vulnerability, and the multiple time scales of climate impacts all make the information needs for adaptation unclear. As countries in South Asia move forward with adaptation planning, sound policy-making will require improvements in both, information availability and decision-making practice.

STATEMENT: Rio+20 Wraps Up with "More of a Whimper Than a Roar"

Michael Oko — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:09:12 -0400

The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) comes to a close today. In total, more than 100 heads of state and tens of thousands of representatives from government, business, and civil society came together over two weeks to advance solutions on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro.

[Editors’ note: You can find WRI’s experts’ analysis on specific issues and outcomes here.]

Following is statement by Manish Bapna, Acting President, World Resources Institute:

“Rio+20 closed with more of a whimper than a roar. Expectations for the conference were understandably low, but the outcomes were even more modest. The agreed upon text was simply not forceful enough to meet the environment and development challenges of our times. This was a missed opportunity to re-energize the global conversation and importantly drive greater action around sustainability.

“There were a few bright spots— the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals, support for better governance around environmental issues, and progress on sustainable transport, among others. But, still, that is not enough.

“Certainly, there are reasons why the conference fell short: economic and political crises on the global stage; the challenge of taking on complex issues; and the struggle of coming to a unanimous decision among the diverse views. These challenges are real, but they should not be an excuse for inaction.

“So then, what comes next?

“We cannot lose sight of the big picture. It would be a mistake to conflate the outcome here with what’s happening on the ground around the world. Real action is taking place on national and local levels in many countries. Just look at Germany’s shift to clean energy, Niger’s efforts to re-green its landscape, or Rio’s just launched bus rapid transit system.

“We understand the challenges. We know the solutions. What we need is to build the political will for bolder leadership.

“As we leave Rio and return to our homes around the globe, we must not give up on the vision of a more sustainable pathway. Given the urgency of the challenges, we must continue to push forward with ambitious solutions that will create a more sustainable future.”

–

Read a summary blog by Manish on where to look for key areas of progress at Rio+20.

RELEASE: Governments and Leaders Call for Strengthening Access to Transparency and Public Participation at Rio+20

James Anderson — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:51:06 -0400

More than 300 representatives from government, multilateral institutions, and civil society came together today to push for more action and commitments to support stronger governance around environmental issues.

Access to information, public participation and access to justice are core values that were embedded in the UN environmental process going back to the original Rio “Earth Summit” in 1992. These announcements show important progress toward implementing and strengthening these values at the international, national, and regional level.

Jose Luis Balmaceda, Chilean ambassador to the United Nations, attended the event, where he discussed efforts by a group of Latin American governments to strengthen their commitment to access rights in the region.

Ambassador Balmaceda said that Chile would guarantee Principle 10 and honor the original Rio Declaration. He noted that several governments are working together in Rio to explore the option of a regional approach on Principle 10. Additionally, he said that the negotiators have been working to strengthen this principle at different levels in the final Rio+20 outcome document.

“It is a fact that at the global and regional levels there is a growing recognition of the value of Principle 10, which demands to be translated into effective and concrete actions,” Ambassador Balmaceda said. “Chile is calling to reaffirm the need to achieve the commitments for the full implementation of the rights to access to information, participation, and justice.”

The call for greater access to information and justice was seconded by senior representatives from two UN agencies: Alicia Bercena, Executive Director of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC); and Sven Alkalaj, Executive Director, the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

In a statement Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations said, “My organization is committed to further advancing the application of Principle 10.” UNEP aims to improve Principle 10 “by enhancing opportunities for public participation and access to information, independent from the outcomes of Rio + 20.”

The EU has shown global leadership in embracing environmental protection and governance protection, through the Aarhus Convention, which is the largest regional effort to date to ensure people have the right to access to information, participation, and justice.

Jonas Ebbesson, Chair of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee said, “The Aarhus Convention shows that highly diverse states can agree on minimum requirements for public participation around environmental matters and they can trust an independent review mechanism in which civil society is a key actor.”

UNECE expressed its willingness to support efforts in the Latin American and Caribbean region to develop a convention on Principle 10 and to share experiences.

The announcement was made at a side event at Rio+20, “Choosing our Future: Open and Participatory Sustainable Development Governance,” organized by the United Nations Environment Programme, Fundação Getulio Vargas Rio Program on Law and Environment, the World Resources Institute, and the Access Initiative.

“In the context of the Rio Summit, where most countries have been reticent to strengthen international norms and legal frameworks, today’s announcements present an alternate and more positive approach. This demonstrates modest, but important progress toward greater governance among a number of democracies,” said Lalanath de Silva, director of the Access Initiative, an international network of non-governmental organizations that are working to advance rights and governance issues.

In addition to these announcements, a number of other governments made announcements around voluntary commitments with regard to open government and sustainability, including representatives from Mexico City and the Irish Delegation.

Correction: A previous version of the press release attributed a statement to Amina Mohammed, Deputy Director of UNEP. The correct attribution is Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

-ENDS-

If you would like more information about the event and announcements, please contact Michael Oko; moko@wri.org; +55 (0) 21 8351 1349.

ADVISORY: Governments, UN Agencies and Civil Society to Reveal Commitments on Governance at Rio+20

Michael Oko — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:13:09 -0400

On Tuesday, June 19, 2012, more than 300 representatives from governments, UN agencies, and civil society will gather to express their support for action and make commitments around open and transparent government and environmental issues.

The event will take place at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), Priaa de Botafogo, 190, in Rio de Janeiro. The opening plenary will take place from 8:20 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; followed immediately by a press conference from 12:00 – 12:30 p.m.

Representatives will include Ambassador Jose Luis Balmaceda, head of the Chilean Delegation, and representatives from Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Peru, along with senior officials from two UN agencies, Alicia Barcena, Executive Secretary, of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Sven Alkalaj, Executive Secretary, of the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and Manish Bapna, Interim President, World Resources Institute.

A number of other governments are expected to make voluntary commitments with regard to open government and sustainability, including representatives of Mexico City and an NGO representative of the Irish delegation.

Speakers at the press conference will include: Ambassador Jose Luis Balmaceda, Permanent Ambassador of Chile to the United Nations; Amina Mohamed, UNEP Deputy Executive Director and Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations; Manish Bapna, Interim President WRI; and Andrew Jackson, NGO representative on the Irish delegation

Additional speakers at the morning plenary, include:

Alf Jerve, Chair of the World Bank Inspection Panel;
Georghe Salaru, Minister of Environment, Republic of Moldova;
Pierre Arcand, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, and Parks, Quebec, Canada;
Jonas Ebbesson, Chair of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee;
Ritwick Dutta, Legal Initiative for Forests and Environment;
Ambassador M. Jean-Pierre Thébault, Representative of France;
Murilo Nunes de Bustamante, Environmental Public Prosecutor, State of Rio de Janeiro

See the full agenda for the event, here: http://www.wri.org/event/2012/06/choosing-our-future-open-and-participatory-sustainable-development-governance

WHAT
Press conference to announce commitments for stronger governance at Rio+20

Twitter hashtag: #choosefuture

WHO
Ambassador Jose Luis Balmaceda, Permanent Ambassador of Chile to the United Nations
Amina Mohamed, UNEP Deputy Executive Director and Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations Manish Bapna, Interim President, WRI;
Andrew Jackson, NGO member of the Irish delegation

WHERE
Funacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), Priaa de Botafogo, 190, Rio de Janeiro

WHEN
Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Plenary session: 8:20 – 12:00 p.m.

Press conference: 12:00 – 12:30 p.m.

Note: Additional photo opportunity with representatives from 30 different countries: 17:00 (5:00 p.m.)

–

If you would like more information about the event and announcements, please contact Michael Oko; moko@wri.org; +55 (0) 21 8351 1349

MEDIA ADVISORY: Hope or Hype? WRI Experts Host Press Call on Rio+20 Summit

James Anderson — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:28:05 -0400

As leaders in government, business and civil society prepare to head to Rio de Janeiro for the UN Sustainable Development Summit, known as Rio+20, experts from the World Resources Institute will host a press call to discuss issues and expectations for the meeting.

WRI experts will discuss issues, including the green economy, governance, climate change, role of business, and more. WRI will provide an update on the state of play and on possible outcomes for the global summit.

Listen to the audio recording of WRI’s press call below:

WHAT:

Press call to discuss expectations for the Rio+20 Summit.

WHO:

Manish Bapna, Interim President, WRI

Craig Hanson, Director, People & Ecosystems Program, WRI

Lalanath de Silva, Director, The Access Initiative

Jennifer Morgan, Director, Climate & Energy Program, WRI

Followed by a Q&A session

WHEN:

Tuesday, May 22, 10:00a.m. EDT // 11:00a.m. BRT

CALL-IN:

United States (Toll free): (866) 803-2143

Brazil (Toll Free): 0800-8911992

Other international locations (Toll): +1 (210)795-1098

Passcode: Callers should ask for “RIO”

You can read more about WRI’s work at Rio +20 at: http://insights.wri.org/topic/rio20.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Michael Oko: Tel. + 1 (202) 729-7684; email: moko@wri.org; or

James Anderson: Tel. +1 (202) 729 7608; email: JAnderson@wri.org

Q&A: Avoiding the Resource Curse in Uganda

Peter Veit — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:48:36 -0400

The following Q&A and photo essay originally appeared on allAfrica.com, and are reposted with permission.

Uganda stands to be the latest African country to benefit from newly discovered resources of oil. If used successfully, the nation’s petroleum reserves could spur development and improve the lives of millions of Ugandans. But if used improperly – with lack of transparency and insufficient regard for the environment – Uganda could become stricken by the “resource curse,” or a negative overall impact despite great potential to improve a nation’s wellbeing.

WRI is working with Ugandan non-governmental organizations to help assure that Uganda’s petroleum industry is transparent, benefits all Ugandans and is environmentally careful. Peter Veit, a senior fellow at WRI, and associate Florence Landsberg, discussed the impact of the discovery of oil in Uganda with allAfrica’s Cindy Shiner.

Lake Albert

Kyohero fishing village on the shores of Lake Albert, Uganda. The discovery of oil around the Lake Albert region has raised hopes of boosting development in the nation. Photo: Greenwatch

Development Challenges

Women coming from the market at Runga fish landing site in the Lake Albert region. Although development has improved with the construction of new roads, population growth and greater trade have depleted fish stocks that local communities rely on for their livelihoods. There are concerns that local development will not be sustainable. Photo: Robert Byaruhanga

Kisoro Market

Biweekly Market in Kisoro, south of Lake Albert on the border with Rwanda. This is within the Albertine Rift, where oil is being explored in Uganda. Photo Richard Duncombe

Community Engagement

Local non-governmental organizations have been active in undertaking community engagement for villages affected by oil production on Lake Albert. Photo: Robert Byaruhanga

Awareness of Rights

They are being made aware of their rights and how the discovery of oil might affect their communities. The goal is to avoid the ‘resource curse’ that has plagued some nations that have vast wealth underfoot, but have failed to develop. Photo: Robert Byaruhanga

Community Meeting at Bombo Parish

Here, villagers put on a drama show on the impact of oil exploration. This was held at Bombo parish, Kigorobya subcounty, Hoima District in the Lake Albert region. Photo: Robert Byaruhanga

Managing the Flow of Oil

Open drill waste management pit managed by Tullow Oil in Uganda’s Hoima District. With the assistance of the World Resources Institute (WRI), Ugandan NGOs are working to help ensure that Uganda’s petroleum industry is transparent, benefits all Ugandans and is environmentally careful. Photo: Greenwatch

National Parks

Government officials and others on tour of Kaiso Tonya Oil Exploration sites on Lake Albert. There are fissures within the Ugandan government over how to deal with oil exploration and extraction in the country’s national parks. Photo: Robert Byaruhanga

Total, S.A. Petrol Station, Kampala

Total owns two major oil concessions in the Lake Albert region of Uganda. Three promised petroleum bills are being presented to parliament this year about management of Uganda’s oil revenues. WRI says they should give a good indication about how transparent the government will be regarding Uganda’s oil industry. Photo: Alisa Zomer, WRI

A Need for Transparency

Mini buses crowd the streets of Kampala, Uganda. The actors linked to Uganda’s oil agree that the discovery of petroleum is a good thing for the country, as long as there is transparency, respect for the environment and sustainable development. Photo: Richard Duncombe

Tell us about WRI’s work in Uganda.

Veit: We’ve been working in Uganda for over 20 years on a range of issues that place us nicely to deal with some of the oil issues. We have been looking at alternative revenue-sharing formulas for oil revenue management and reinvestment. We’ve been looking at issues of disclosure and transparency, specifically on the production-sharing agreements, but also more broadly on oil revenue information.

Florence [Landsberg] has been working on the environmental aspect of the potential oil effects, both to protected areas and, perhaps most importantly, on local populations around Lake Albert. More recently we’ve been working on land-grabbing issues in the oil districts. Land values have increased, the number of land transactions has increased and the number of non-Bonyoro people that have acquired land in the oil districts has increased significantly.

What are the potential environmental impacts? The Albertine Rift has great value for its biodiversity.

Landsberg: There are direct impacts; they are going to convert wild areas to settlement and things like that. But I would like to speak about the indirect impacts.

For example, the Albertine Rift in Uganda used to be quite remote. You will have more migrations of more people into the area, and better roads. The rate at which natural resources are used is going to increase - which could be an opportunity for development, except that it is not likely to be sustainable. Many local populations around the lake are fisher folks. They already have a hard time, because there are less fish and they are smaller. And now that there are more people around the lake and more access to markets, there has been more overfishing, so the situation is worsening.

You said that development would not be sustainable – why?

Landsberg: The fish stock is already at risk, because there is more catching of fish that are not mature. The upgrade of the roads has allowed for more fish to be exported. The restocking of the fish is not going to happen if there is no intervention.

Veit: To add to that, many scientists will tell you that the Albertine Rift is the most biologically diverse area in all of Africa. There are national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, forest reserves, and there already is some impact on these protected areas. For example, there is drilling in Murchison Falls National Park, even though many public interest environmental lawyers in Uganda will tell you that the law does not allow that. Kenneth Kakuru of Greenwatch has filed a pleading in the High Court over extractive resource industries in national parks.

There was already discussion of de-gazetting one of the parks to make way for an oil refinery. There is discussion of a pipeline that would take the oil to Mombassa that would have effects on biodiversity. And there is also discussion about oil workers poaching inside protected areas.

How receptive has the government of Uganda been to these issues being brought to their attention?

Veit: There’s what appears to be an interesting split between the president, his cabinet and the oil department, versus the forestry department and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. On one hand, the Wildlife Authority has threatened to kick Tullow Oil workers out of some parks. (More here.) On the other hand, there seems to be no stopping extractive industries from operating in fully protected national parks such as Murchison.

Ken Kakuru tells me that the law allows for extractive industries in reserves and sanctuaries, but not in national parks. Even if Ken’s case succeeds and the judge rules that drilling is illegal, I would not be surprised if the judge does not order the government to stop all drilling in national parks. Even if he does, I suspect the government would either not comply or simply change the law.

How much power do wildlife authorities have to follow through on threats to expel oil workers?

Veit: Not sure. But even if they have the legal authority to do so, it is unclear whether they would actually do so. My sense is that they are using the media to raise the profile and push Tullow to be more careful and watchful. Tullow doesn’t want this type of publicity.

The bottom line is: drilling is taking place in Murchison Falls and in some of the forest reserves and sanctuaries as well. The National Environment Management Authority (Nema), which approves the environmental impact assessments (EIAs), is under some political pressure in reviewing these EIAs. As far as we know, most, or all of the EIAs have been approved - an indicator that suggests the oil sector will continue to be developed. I don’t know of any oil EIAs that were rejected by Nema, although they have called for changes in the associated mitigation plans.

Landsberg: There was one project, the early production scheme, that was inside a gazetted area, that at the very last moment actually stopped. They located somewhere else. So it does happen.

Veit: An oil refinery there, which was targeted to be placed within a protected area, was subsequently scrapped. But the information we have suggest that it had less to do with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and more to do with the European funder, who was not happy.

To what degree is there enough transparency and fairness in governance to assure that the wildlife and environment authorities have genuine power?

Veit: Probably not enough. I doubt [President Yoweri] Museveni would allow drilling to stop. Eventually he would step in and broker some agreement.

We’re not privy to those discussions. The EIAs that have been approved usually come back with some conditions, which need to be met by the oil companies before they can proceed. But the bottom line is that oil development will progress in that area. There’s just too much oil, and it means too much for Uganda as a whole.

Landsberg: Under certain conditions that can be good. Establishing these conditions is the role of environmental impact assessments at project level and the strategic environmental impact assessments at regional level. That’s where there could be some improvement. The strategic environmental impact assessment hasn’t taken place yet.

The strategic environmental assessment aims at comparing different development alternatives at a regional level. It means that you don’t only look at oil development. You weigh a scenario with oil development versus a scenario with some oil, some renewable energy, some tourism development, for example. It could translate into a zoning where no oil development would be allowed in order to preserve the area’s tourist potential. A strategic environment assessment will provide the regional context in which the impacts of a specific project will happen, which will be addressed in the project EIA.

What effect do you think this year’s elections might have in terms of Uganda’s oil, how it is used and the transparency process?

Veit: If Museveni wins then probably not much. If [Kizza] Besigye wins, perhaps. The parliamentary elections are more interesting in this regard. If the opposition picks up a number of seats then they may be powerful enough to change matters. There is a caucus of MPs on oil, which can be influential.

You had mentioned problems of land grabbing. Are there proper land-use laws in place in Uganda?

Veit: Uganda’s land law recognizes undocumented customary tenure arrangement, but in practice, it can be difficult for rural people to protect their customary holdings. Much of the ‘land grabbing’ is legal. The law provides opportunities for well-connected and well-heeled individuals to acquire land through the legal processes. So a lot of that land is being taken and held in speculation for when the likely development that comes with the oil sector takes place.

I have been told that when rural people see oil workers coming on their land, they quickly sell it out of fear that the government will just expropriate it and they won’t get anything. There are more land transactions taking place in western Uganda than in any other part of the country. Many of the transactions are resulting in new owners who are not Bunyoro or Acholi – the traditional groups in western Uganda.

What we’re trying to do is create more transparency around some of these transactions. A lot of them are willing seller-willing buyer types of arrangements. But a lot of the land in that area is held under customary land arrangements, is undocumented and the transactions are being done in ways that are not clear until it’s been finalized. That’s one of the problems – the fact that a lot of it is undocumented, unregistered, untitled land. Nobody knows how much land is actually titled and registered in Uganda, but it’s actually a very, very small percentage.

Is this creating any tension locally?

Veit: Most of that area is claimed by the Bunyoro Kingdom and most of the people acquiring land are non-Bunyoro people. That’s creating problems, because a lot of people make their living off the land. When they sell their land, it creates problems for their livelihoods and well-being.

Which major oil companies are operating in Uganda?

The three companies that hold oil real estate in Uganda are Tullow, Tower and Dominion, all UK exploration companies. Tullow has made the major find in Lake Albert. They are hoping to transfer themselves into an oil production company as well. But in order to speed up production, they want to sell a third of their shares to Total France and another third to a Chinese oil company, CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Company). That sale has not yet been approved by the government of Uganda. It’s partly held up by some capital gains tax the government claims that Tullow owes them.

Do you think there will be any difference in terms of impact if a Chinese company comes in?

Veit: We’ve been grappling with that question ourselves. WRI has an office in China that we recently opened, and we have an effort ongoing to do two things. One is to put in place better social and environmental safeguards with Chinese banks that are investing in the Chinese national oil companies. The second is to work more closely with the Chinese companies themselves to make sure they actually implement those higher standards. We have been meeting with Chinese oil companies in Beijing and briefing them on Uganda laws.

The recent Wall Street Reform [and Consumer Protection] Act here in the United States requires companies to submit annual reports to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and be much more open about the revenues that they pay foreign governments. The Chinese company that is likely to buy some of these shares, as well as Total, would qualify, and therefore in their annual reports to the SEC they might have to be much more open about some of their dealings with the government of Uganda. (See WRI’s working paper for more details.)

Uganda stands to potentially gain quite a lot through its oil resources. From the work you’ve done so far, do you see a trend that indicates a positive outcome for the country’s development?

Landsberg: Locally, there are better roads, better infrastructure, better healthcare and education. There are good things for sure. The fact that people can export their fish to market is a good thing. Now it really depends - are they going to do it for two years, three years or forever? It’s about sustainability at the local level.

I think it’s a great opportunity for Uganda, and all local NGOs agree on that. We just want to make sure it’s done the best way possible.

Veit: Tullow Oil certainly has made an effort to invest in the areas in which they are drilling. That’s a good thing. The real prize here is when the oil production starts and the oil revenues begin to flow. There are statements by the president of Uganda and other senior officials that they will manage these oil revenues in ways that will promote economic growth and poverty reduction. A lot of this will be codified in three promised petroleum bills that are supposed to be presented to parliament this year and next.

We won’t know the details until those bills are public. Only one has been released so far, and it doesn’t deal with oil revenue management and reinvestment. However, it does deal with transparency issues. The public statements the president has made on transparency are not consistent with what we see in the first of these petroleum bills. The bill is much more secretive and does not allow as much disclosure on production and revenue as the president has promised or that’s in the national oil policy. So we’re a little nervous.

The Norwegians are providing guidance to the [Ugandan] government and that bodes well, because the Norwegians have done well at managing their oil. So if you have anybody in there advising the government, that’s probably a good set of actors to do so. There’s a very active NGO society, and parliamentarians are beginning to speak up on these issues. Even the High Court. For example, several years ago, Ken Kakuru took a case to the High Court to have a Power Purchase Agreement for a dam declared a public document. He won. Yet, recently, a Magistrate Court ruled that the oil Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) do not need to be released. I believe Ken will win his up-coming case in the High Court regarding the PSAs. It has made some rulings that would suggest that they have some independence from the executive branch on these matters.

New Initiative Uses Environmental Lens to Promote Government Transparency in Key African Countries

Michael Oko — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:44:23 -0400

A new initiative was recently launched to promote government transparency and increase people’s access to information in Ghana, Uganda and South Africa. The Access to Information in Africa: Transparency Models and Lessons Learned (ATI in Africa) project is coordinated by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in partnership with the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) in Ghana, Greenwatch in Uganda and the Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC) in South Africa.

“While there have been recent reforms in Africa that have helped usher in multi-party politics and elections, there are still many gaps in accountability mechanisms, such as access to information laws,” said Victor Brobbey, research fellow for Governance and Legal Policy at CDD. “This initiative is designed to advance reforms in Ghana, Uganda and South Africa that will improve the quality of governance and protect people’s rights in these countries.”

Uganda and South Africa have a comprehensive freedom of information act which grants citizens the right of access to information in the custody of public institutions. In Ghana, a freedom of information bill awaits action in the parliament.

This initiative comes on the heels of recent developments to increase people’s access to information in Liberia and Nigeria. On October 4, 2010, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf signed into law the Liberian Freedom of Information Act. The signing made Liberia the first West African country with a comprehensive freedom of information law. More recently, on March 16, 2011, the Nigerian Senate passed the Freedom of Information Bill. This followed the passing of a similar bill by the House of Representatives. A “harmonization conference committee” has been appointed to resolve the differences between the Senate and House bills.

“These new laws are a step forward in these two countries—we are looking forward to similar measures in other African countries,” said Peter Veit, senior associate, WRI, and director of the ATI in Africa project. “Working with local partners on the ground in Ghana, Uganda and South Africa, we will be using an objective, analytical approach to explore new opportunities that lie in environmental and natural resource laws to advance people’s rights of access to information, including government-held information on land, oil, natural gas minerals, forests and water.”

The ATI in Africa project is designed improve access to information in Africa by identifying and testing sectoral approaches for citizens and civil society organizations to access information on the environment and high-value natural resources. Transparency infrastructure that provide citizens with multiple avenues to access government-held information are likely to be more robust and secure, and can better protect the right of access to information.

“The ATI in Africa project’s approach to increase access to information though an environmental lens provides a unique approach to help people and improve governance in Africa,” said Tavinder Nijhawan, Senior Management Officer at the International Development Research Centre. “We are excited to be supporting this project, which should help identify new pathways to engage governments, civil society and individuals on environmental and natural resource issues that affect people’s lives and livelihoods.”

*ATI in Africa *is supported principally with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada as well as Irish Aid, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and World Bank Development Grant Facility. The IDRC grant will support the project for a period of two years, and is part of IDRC’s new portfolio of investments to catalyze more open and inclusive models of development through research and outreach.

# # # #

The World Resources Institute is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action (www.wri.org).

Open Democracy Advice Center is a non-profit based in Cape Town. ODAC’s mission is to promote open and transparent democracy; foster a culture of corporate and government accountability; and assist people in South Africa to be able to realize their human rights (http://www.opendemocracy.org.za/).

Greenwatch is an environmental rights advocacy NGO in Uganda that promotes public participation in the sustainable use, management and protection of the environment and natural resources and the enforcement of the Constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment (http://www.greenwatch.or.ug/).

Ghana’s Center for Democratic Development is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit research-based and policy-oriented think tank in Accra, Ghana. CDD’s mission is to promote democracy, good governance and the development of liberal economic environment in Ghana in particular and Africa in general. (http://www.cddghana.org/).

International Development Research Center is a Canadian Crown corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies (www.idrc.ca).

In Deep Water: Weak Governance and the Gulf Oil Spill, a 30-Year Timeline

Maggie Barron — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:19:28 -0500

Summary

The Deepwater Horizon Blowout last April in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest oil spill in U.S. history. It will be many years before we know the full extent of the disaster in terms of its impact on the environment and the economy.

Regardless of the final damage tally, the system put in place to avoid these types of disasters has proven inadequate. This is evident from the investigations and recommendations of the National Oil Spill Commission, established by President Obama, whose report was published on January 11, 2011. It was also implicit in the immediate response by the federal government to restructure and rename the agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry – formerly the Minerals Management Service, now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

How did we reach this point? As a new timeline of events from WRI shows, the governance problems that allowed the spill to happen began long before the blowout, and long before the Deepwater Horizon well was authorized.

A Thematic Timeline

The World Resources Institute (WRI) has conducted a wide-ranging review of the decisions, policies, participants and events that formed the backdrop to the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf. This timeline is intended to serve as a resource and reference tool for policymakers, academics and journalists interested in a larger accounting of the oil drilling governance and regulatory system, going back to 1978. The research draws from, and references, a broad range of primary sources including congressional testimony, federal agency and commission reports, documents released through Freedom of Information Act requests, and secondary news sources.

Key recurring governance failures highlighted over the 30-year timeline include:

Efforts by government agencies to keep pace with the risks associated with new drilling technologies were undermined as new guidelines were not adopted or enforced.
Lack of transparency and accountability over the collection and expenditure of oil revenues led to mismanagement of royalty fees owed to the American people.
A revolving door culture between the public and private sector coincided with the failure of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute ethical breaches.

Key Policy Issues

The timeline is accompanied by thematic icons to highlight specific streams of influence and decision-making areas that contributed to the complex system failure.

Moving Forward

This timeline seeks to shed light on the circumstances, policies and decisions that helped enable America’s worst oil spill. It does not provide recommendations, but rather highlights key governance issues that need to be addressed if the U.S. is to avoid another such disaster. The National Oil Spill Commission Report, released early January 2011, clearly states the extent of governance reform required:

To assure human safety and environmental protection, regulatory oversight of leasing, energy exploration, and production require reforms even beyond those significant reforms already initiated since the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Fundamental reform will be needed in both the structure of those in charge of regulatory oversight and their internal decision-making process to ensure their political autonomy, technical expertise, and their full consideration of environmental protection concerns.

The report goes on to make detailed recommendations ranging from technical standards to auditing and permitting requirements. These recommendations will take time and resources to integrate and, as the new 112th Congress settles into office, proposed budget cuts and calls for regulatory reform may pose a challenge. It is therefore critical that non-governmental organizations play an active role in ensuring that environmental resources are managed safely and fairly and that the lessons of the last 30 years regarding U.S. deepwater oil extraction are learned and acted upon.

Avoiding the Resource Curse: Spotlight on Oil in Uganda

Maggie Barron — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:49:34 -0500

Uganda has made significant progress in codifying the rights of access to information (ATI) and participation, and toward putting in place the institutional infrastructure, including a regulatory framework, for the oil sector. Political roll-backs that are re-concentrating power in the executive branch of government and the growing scale of known oil reserves, however, may jeopardize these advances.

In this context, the passage of a new law in the United States requiring companies that file annual reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose the payments they make to host governments for the extraction of oil, natural gas and minerals, could help shore up transparency around investment in Uganda’s extractives industry and avoid the failures in governance that have exposed other countries to the “resource curse.”

Download WRI’s Comments on Uganda’s Access to Information Regulations

Update: On 21 April 2011, the government of Uganda signed into law new regulations for implementing Uganda’s Access to Information (ATI) Act of 2005. The ATI Regulations were long awaited and widely welcomed, since many local and international advocates believed their absence had hindered full implementation of the Act, and stymied efforts to increase transparency and accountability. The Regulations support implementation of the ATI Act in a number of important ways. For example, they establish procedures for citizens to request government-held information and for government to respond to citizen requests. But the Regulations also include a number of burdensome provisions that make access unnecessarily costly and difficult and, as such, they are not in the spirit of the strong right to information provision found in Uganda’s Constitution. Read WRI’s full comments on the Regulations (PDF, 211 Kb)