No Sources of Fuelwood, All Vegetation Cover is Done:Women Livelihoods and Oil-induced Displacement in Albertine Graben, Uganda

Abstract

Previous studies have treated oil-induced displacement, women’s livelihood, and the environment at separatee issue. No major study has paid full attention to the relationship between oil-induced displacement, the livelihoods of women, and the impact of resettlement compensation environment in Albertine graben, Uganda. This article examines the appropriateness and effectiveness of resettlement compensation, women’s sources of livelihood before and after resettlement, and the effects of women's livelihoods on the environment. Adopting a phenomenological research design to acquire lived experiences of participants before and after resettlement, the data was collected over a three-year period between 2016 and 2019. Data collection methods included in-depth interviews with twenty-seven affected women, two focus group discussions (FGD), documentary review, and an observation method. The findings indicate that failure to effectively implement resettlement programs with a focus on environmental protection has an interminable and adverse effect on most women and future generations’ environs. Results further indicate that resettlement activities resulted into the loss of women’s former livelihoods. This loss of livelihoods forced women to exploit and degrade the environment in their newly resettled communities. The paper concludes that severe signs of environmental degradation caused by resettlement programs may be avoidable especially when women custodians of the environment are provided with the emergence means to sustain their daily livelihoods. It is recommended that compensation and resettlement programs should consider immediate and emergence assistance for the post resettlement phase of those affected by oil-induced displacement in Albertine Graben.