Friends of the Earth International | Stop land grabbing for palm oil in Uganda

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Stop land grabbing for palm oil in Uganda

Step 1:

Select the recipient(s)

Recipient*
Amama Mbabazi, Prime Minister
Kabakumba Masiko, Minister of the Presidency
Maria Mutagamba, Minister for water and the environment
Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda

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Step 2: Compose E-Mail

Please sign the letter below that will be sent to the President of Uganda, the Prime Minister of Uganda and relevant government ministers.
Subject*		Talking Points Feel free to edit the content of the letter as you wish.
Message*	Dear [Recipient],
	I am writing to express my concern at the proliferation of land grabbing in your country mainly for food and agrofuel crops for export. This comes at the expense of millions of Ugandan people. The water, energy, food, ecological and cultural sovereignty of whole communities and peoples is being destroyed. It is a misconception that plantations of commercial agriculture will bring development for the people. Despite laws protecting customary interests in land and traditional uses of forests almost three quarters of northern Uganda and three quarters of southern Uganda have been mapped for agrofuels. In Kalangala 20 homesteads were removed from forest land to give way for oil palm plantations. In Kiboga, Kibale, Mt Elgon and Ecuya forest local communities and forest dependent people have been evicted with no proper resettlement packages. The Government has fast tracked policies and laws that aid the land grabbing process, for example by superseding people’s security of land tenure by clauses that allow the Government to take over land. There is no substitute for protecting people’s access to resources for their livelihoods and culture. I am therefore joining Friends of the Earth Uganda (NAPE) in demanding the following from the national and local Government: 1. Respect the constitutional provisions on land tenure and the Governments role as custodian, not owner of the land 2. Respect and protect forestry policy 3. Enforce social and environmental impact assessments, including assessments of impacts on local/community based food production before the commencement of any project. 4. Promote investments that are pro-people and have relevance to time-tested indigenous land management systems and survival strategies in Uganda. In addition we demand that the parliament takes on an oversight role to stop land grabbing by: 5. Questioning every land grab initiative to investigate corruption and issues of human rights, transparency and justice in decisions on land rights. 6. Reviewing all the policies and laws relating to land to ensure that socio-culturally sensitive, pro-people policies and laws are in place to safeguard our people from corrupt actions of government and land grabbers. 7. Recommending a review of the constitution to guarantee the people and whole communities’ protection against land grabbing.
	Sincerely, [Your Name]
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