A coalition of Ugandan civil society organisations and oil-affected communities has expressed distrust in a recent survey sponsored by TotalEnergies, which claimed that oil activities in Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) are not harming wildlife.
In a communiqué the groups called for independent investigations and a halt to oil operations in the park.
The statement, led by the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), follows meetings held in September with communities from Hoima and Buliisa districts, as well as discussions with civil society partners.
It was in response to an article published in August in the New Vision newspaper titled “Murchison Falls Wildlife Safe from Oil Activities – Experts.”
The article reported on a survey conducted by TotalEnergies in partnership with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Uganda Conservation Society, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and others.
The survey concluded that oil activities under the Tilenga project have no negative impact on wildlife in MFNP.
According to the communiqué, the survey involved collaring 15 elephants in 2020 and monitoring their movements, finding none grazed outside the park.
It also assessed stress levels in wildlife through faecal matter tests and estimated populations of 206 lions, 249 spotted hyenas, and 71 leopards, suggesting a potential “biodiversity net gain.”
However, the groups raised several concerns. Communities near MFNP in Buliisa and Nwoya districts have reported increased elephant-human conflicts since oil activities began, including crop destruction noted during a November 2018 public hearing on the Tilenga project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).
Since 2022, seven people in Buliisa have died from such conflicts, with two others injured. By April 2025, over 612 claims for crop losses were filed in one village alone.
The signatories expressed scepticism about the survey’s independence, noting that TotalEnergies, as the sponsor, is unlikely to produce findings critical of its own operations.
They cited the proverb “he who pays the piper calls the tune” and contrasted the results with a 2015 Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) study, which found elephants moving away from oil well pads by up to 5 kilometres during construction and drilling. The WCS report indicated that oil activities predicted elephant ranging 60% of the time, compared to 30% for natural factors like habitat and water.
The communiqué also highlighted that while the survey attributed some elephant movements to natural factors, such as attraction to maize crops, the spike in conflicts coincided with intensified oil drilling and infrastructure construction in 2024, when four deaths occurred in Buliisa.
Additionally, the groups pointed to climate change impacts driven in part by companies like TotalEnergieson other species.
Tourism concerns were also raised, with some tracks in the park closed to visitors due to oil activities. Tour operators and tourists have reported difficulty sighting wildlife, despite the survey’s positive population estimates.
The statement noted broader issues, including harassment, intimidation, and arrests of critics. Between 2021 and August 2025, over 222 people were arrested for opposing oil activities or protesting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
In their call to action, the groups recommended that the government should establish a multi-stakeholder monitoring committee for TotalEnergies’ operations in MFNP, including one civil society member and commission independent studies through the committee to investigate oil impacts on wildlife, rising elephant-human conflicts, limited wildlife sightings, oil roads’ effects, and the Victoria Nile Pipeline crossing near a Ramsar site.
They also called for a halt on all oil activities in MFNP during the setup of the committee and investigations. The groups argued this is necessary to achieve the National Development Plan IV goal of increasing tourism revenues to $ 5 billion by 2040.
