About the project
EACOP is a planned 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline intended to transport crude oil from Uganda’s Lake Albert region to the Tanzanian port of Tanga for export. It is connected to the Tilenga project, operated by TotalEnergies, and the Kingfisher project, operated by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Together, the developments include oil wells, processing facilities, access roads and other infrastructure.
Companies and state-owned entities involved include TotalEnergies, CNOOC, EACOP Ltd, the Uganda National Oil Company and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation. The materials also identify China Exim Bank, Standard Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as financial actors.
The projects affect farming and fishing communities in Hoima, Buliisa, Kikuube and other districts along Uganda’s oil corridor. Households report losing farmland, fishing access, forests, water sources and communal land. Delayed or inadequate compensation has contributed to food insecurity, debt and uncertainty. Some families have moved from productive farms to small residential plots with little space for crops or livestock.
Women have often cultivated land without holding formal ownership rights, contributing to their exclusion from compensation and decisions. Young people face the long-term loss of land, livelihoods and inheritance. Communities also report disrupted cultural and social ties, biodiversity loss, pollution risks and unaffordable electricity and clean-cooking technologies. Human rights defenders and youth activists have reportedly faced arrest, surveillance, intimidation and restrictions on protest.
Ugandan human rights defender Aryampa Brighton with his colleagues from Youth for Green Communities (YGC) during a awareness raising activity with communities affected by the EACOP pipeline. Credit: YGC
About the community-led struggle
Affected communities have organised meetings, protests and petitions; documented impacts; pursued litigation; engaged government and companies; and used national and international human-rights and financial advocacy. Community-led livelihood initiatives include savings groups, collective farming, beekeeping, poultry and fish farming, plant nurseries and climate-smart agriculture. These provide food and emergency income while creating spaces for organising, although limited finance, equipment and market access constrain their scale.
Several CRE partners contribute to this wider struggle:
Oil Refinery Residents Association (ORRA) is a grassroots organisation established in Hoima in 2012 following the displacement of more than 7,000 people for Uganda’s proposed oil refinery. It supports affected communities on land and compensation rights, environmental protection and participation, with particular attention to women and youth.
Women for Green Economy Movement Uganda (WOGEM) organises and supports women affected by the refinery, EACOP and associated oil projects. The materials do not provide further details about its activities.
Youth for Green Communities (YGC) is a youth-led policy research and advocacy organisation focused on environmental governance and natural-resource management. It supports community monitoring, legal assistance, youth organising and the StopEACOP campaign, while promoting sustainable livelihood activities for women and young people.
EACOP Host Communities is a grassroots network connecting communities affected by the pipeline in Uganda and Tanzania. It documents community experiences, supports mobilisation and community journalism, and advocates for fair compensation, transparency and accountability.
Centre for Environmental Research and Agriculture Innovations (CERAI) is a youth-led organisation working on environmental protection, sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. Its Repower Afrika campaign promotes decentralised, community-owned energy alternatives in districts affected by EACOP.
Witness Radio Uganda brings together investigative journalists, lawyers and social workers. It combines investigative reporting, legal aid, digital tools and community organising to support people affected by land dispossession, forced evictions and development-related harm.
African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) is a Ugandan research and advocacy organisation working on energy and environmental governance. It supports oil-affected communities through research, public-interest advocacy, legal empowerment and community organising, while promoting affordable and decentralised renewable energy.
Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organisation (BIRUDO) is a community-based organisation working in the Albertine region. It supports communities on oil justice, land rights, food security and environmental protection and has facilitated workshops, communal land associations and engagement with government and oil companies.
Further resources
- Uganda’s oil corridor: development for whom?
- #STOPEACOP – STOP the East African Crude Oil Pipeline now!
- A tale of a defender in development (by Aryampa Brighton, Youth for Green Communities)
- From Nigeria to Uganda, oil-affected communities are standing up for climate justice (by EACOP Host communities)
- EACOP profile, company responses and stories – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre