Land, life and justice

The report documents how the Ugandan government's drive for foreign investment has led to large-scale land grabs for industrial agriculture, carbon credits, and oil exploration. In Kalangala, the oil palm project has caused deforestation, water contamination, and food insecurity, while displacing local populations. Similar patterns of dispossession are noted in carbon offset projects in Mt Elgon and Bukaleba, and oil exploration in Buliisa. The document argues that these trends are driven by global over-consumption and calls for a shift toward agro-ecological farming and the protection of customary land rights.

• The Kalangala oil palm project, supported by IFAD and the World Bank, has led to significant environmental degradation, including the clearing of tropical forests and the draining of wetlands, which has damaged biodiversity and increased soil erosion.
• Land grabbing in Kalangala has caused severe social and economic disruptions, including the loss of customary land rights, a sudden spike in land prices (from 70,000 shillings an acre in 2003 to up to 2 million in 2009), and increased food insecurity as the island now imports most of its staples.
• The oil palm project in Kalangala has resulted in human rights violations, such as the blocking of access to communal water wells and the confiscation of animals trespassing on former grazing lands.
• Carbon offset projects under the REDD+ framework in Uganda are replacing native forests with monoculture plantations of non-native species like eucalyptus and pine, often displacing local communities.
• In the Buliisa region, the discovery of oil has triggered land grabbing by speculators and oil companies, leading to the displacement of local communities and restrictions on civil society's right to assemble.
• The report identifies a global trend where high food prices and over-consumption in the industrialised world drive multinational corporations and governments to seize land in developing nations.
• The New Forests Company reportedly evicted approximately 20,000 people from natural forests in the Luwunga Forest Reserve to establish pine monocultures.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2012). Land, life and justice. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/land-life-and-justice.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Land, life and justice. 2012. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/land-life-and-justice.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Land, life and justice |date=April 2012 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/land-life-and-justice.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2012land, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Land, life and justice}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2012}, month = apr, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/land-life-and-justice.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }