FBOs protest environmental degradation around oil refinery land in Hoima
Their climate walk from Kabaale Church of Uganda (COU) to Kabaale – Kiziranfumbi Road came at the climax of their engagement organized by Greenfaith.
Members from different Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) in the communities around the oil refinery land in Kabaale Sub County, Hoima District have held a procession demanding sound action for climate justice in the Albertine region.
Their climate walk from Kabaale Church of Uganda (COU) to Kabaale – Kiziranfumbi Road came at the climax of their engagement organized by Greenfaith.
Greenfaith is an international organization that works to promote environmental conservation through FBOs.
The members had digested numerous issues that are threatening the natural environment including the oil-induced developments on one side and environmentally dangerous agricultural practices by community members on the other.
The church is about 250 metres from the oil refinery land on the southwest boundary.
Condemning abuse of herbicides, encroachment on wetlands, irresponsible disposal of plastics and the need for a total ban on plastic bags are some of the issues raised.
They also appealed to the government to provide free seedlings to the community members for planting in order to mitigate the effects of the major oil projects like the will be most adjacent oil refinery, Tilenga and Kingfisher projects under development in the neighbouring Hoima, Buliisa and Nwoya and Kikuube districts respectively and the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
Emmanuel Okwor, a member of the End Time Message Church, said the walk was important to capture the attention of all Ugandans to fight climate change and its effects.
Edwin Mumbere, the activity ring leader from Greenfaith, said if possible, fossil fuel production could completely stop and instead invest heavily in renewable energy in Uganda.
He called upon the public to embrace tree planting to sequence carbon from the atmosphere and save their agricultural production highly threatened by unpredictable weather.
Their activity comes in a wave of protests for and against the European Union (EU) parliament resolution to delay Uganda’s oil developments over claims of human rights violations and environmental threats posed by the EACOP project.
