Power and Development : Controversies over the Bujagali Hydropower Porject Along the Nile River in Uganda

Mega projects are in most cases considered as the necessary evil of development. Before their benefits can be reaped, a lot of sacrifices and tough choices have to be made. The fear and uncertainties surrounding such projects range from the impacts on the local people, on the environment, the costs of investment, and to, if the project will deliver the promised benefits. Because of these fears and uncertainties, it is not unusual that most if not all such projects meet a lot of critics and resistance before their success or failures are witnessed. Today, it is more of a requirement than a belief (although without a guarantee) that stakeholders’ involvement and their active participation in all decision-making process concerning a project is the surest way of minimizing conflicts and ensuring justice. The Bujagali hydropower project being an example of such projects and without immunity to the problems faced by other mega project around the world has been a case study for this thesis. This study has therefore focused on institutional arrangements that governed the management and utilization of water resources in connection to hydropower development along the Nile River in Uganda, the procedures and stages of the negotiations for hydropower infrastructure development in Uganda, identified the major stakeholders that take part in such negotiations and looked in detail for what their issues and interests are. It has also examined the attitudes and opinions of stakeholders on the potential and benefits of hydropower against (solar, bio-fuel and geothermal) energy sources in the context of Uganda, taking into consideration the need for socio-economic development, preservation of culture and environmental protection. Finally, it has analyzed the conflicts/controversies that have arisen in the Bujagali hydropower project

Impacts of land use and land cover change in response to different driving forces in Uganda : evidence from a review

This reviewe of Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) studies in Uganda indicate agriculture, forest, grassland, and woodland as the major land use and land cover types. Central Uganda is the most studied region (15%), followed by western (14), eastern (10), and northern Uganda (3). District scale studies were (48%), catchment (19%), forest (17%), national (10%), and park (7%). Landsat 30 m and remote sensing was most used (93%). Population is the leadingdrivers of LULCC. The impacts of LULCC are site specific and includes reduction of: tree cover and species composition; water quality and quantity; and soil quality

Variabilities and trends of rainfall, temperature, and river flow in sipi sub-catchment on the slopes of mt. Elgon, uganda

The variabilities in rainfall and temperature in a catchment affect water availability and sustainability. This study assessed the variabilities in rainfall and temperature (1981–2015) and river flow (1998–2015) in the Sipi sub-catchment on annual and seasonal scales. Observed daily rainfall and temperature data for Buginyanya and Kapchorwa weather stations were obtained from the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA), while the daily river-flow data for Sipi were obtained from the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE). The study used descriptive statistics, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Mann–Kendall trend analysis, and Sen’s slope estimator. Results indicate a high coefficient of variation (CV) (CV > 30) for August, September, October, and November (ASON) seasonal rainfall, while annual rainfall had a moderate coefficient of variation (20 ˂ CV ˂ 30). The trend analysis shows that ASON minimum and mean temperatures increased at α = 0.001 and α = 0.05 levels of significance respectively in both stations and over the entire catch-ment. Furthermore, annual and March, April, and May (MAM) river flows increased at an α = 0.05 level of significance. A total of 14 extremely wet and dry events occurred in the sub-catchment during the post-2000 period, as compared to five in the pre-2000. The significant increased trend of river flow could be attributed to the impacts of climate and land-use changes. Therefore, future studies may need to quantify the impacts of future climate and land-use changes on water resources in the sub-catchment