Multinational Extractive Enterprises and the Human Rights to a Healthy Environment in Uganda: The Role of Environmental Procedural Rights
摘要
In Uganda, foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational enterprises is fundamental in fostering economic growth and the development of the extractive sectors. Multinational Extractive Enterprises (MEEs) have provided much-needed employment, growth of the tax base, availed raw materials, enabled skills development, and boosted exports. However, MEEs activities with oil and gas exploration, mining, and quarrying have adversely affected the environment. Over the years, environmental degradation from these activities has been on the increase as manifested by the alteration of landscapes and pollution of air and water resources. Whereas the government has put in place legal and institutional mechanisms to address environmental degradation resulting from the operations of MEEs, more remains to be done because these mechanisms only promote economic interests with less consideration for adequate environmental protection. It is suggested that environmental procedural rights fundamentally enhance environmental protection and sustainable development in the activities of MEEs. This is because environmental procedural rights provide a platform for citizens to hold governments and MEEs accountable. This chapter examines the role of environmental procedural rights in promoting environmental protection in the activities of MEEs in Uganda. It analyses the legal regulatory framework on the environment and extractive industries relevant to the implementation of environmental procedural rights in Uganda. This chapter also discusses the efficacy of deploying environmental procedural rights in response to environmental degradation from the activities of MEEs. The chapter argues that environmental procedural rights will go a long way in enhancing citizen involvement in protecting the environment from the adverse effects of MEEs operations. It concludes by proposing recommendations to strengthen the legal and institutional framework on extractives in Uganda.