Kampala — Tour operators, lodge owners and conservationists are up in arms about the latest plans of Heritage Oil to test seven more wells in the northern part of Murchison Falls National Park.

The seven new sites, each of which will take about three months to be tested, come on top of two other wells - Buffalo 1 and Giraffe 1 - that were explored earlier this year.

According to preliminary plans, distributed during a recent stakeholders' meeting, four of the new wells will be located at both sides of the Pakwach-Paara track.

Two others are expected to be in the first part of the Buligi track, one of the main tourist routes running into the Delta valley, while the last one, called Heartbeast, will be near the Nile Delta.

The area is home to hundreds of giraffes, elephants, buffaloes and antelopes and provides some of the most magnificent sceneries of the world-famous park.

At the meeting, which took place on August 4 at the museum in Murchison Park, the stakeholders were eager to know from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) if the Buligi circuit would be closed during the testing.

When works were going on at Buffalo 1 and Giraffe 1, part of the Buligi track was closed for six months - from November 2008 to May 2009.

But UWA officials reassured the tour operators and lodge owners that this time, the Buligi circuit would remain open for those who do not mind the oil exploration activities.

"However, at some stage people may not want to use this circuit because of the activities that will be taking place and we do not know the effects of oil spill," according to the report of the meeting.

Alternative tracks

For tourists who insist on a pristine and undisturbed environment, UWA is looking at making alternative tracks.

One possibility explored during the meeting was a loop connecting Tangi gate to the Chobe-Pakuba road.

As the second part of Buligi circuit will be free from oil testing, another track was proposed to run from the bridge near Paara Safari Lodge to run along the river to Buligi.

However, this would require building three to four bridges. "UWA does not have enough money to make these tracks but will be looking for the funding," the report said.

The wildlife body argues that these were roads used in the 1960s and it was going to re-open them anyway considering the improved security and the increased number of visitors.

"Visitation went up from 3,000 in 2003 to 40,000 today. With increased visitation and security, we planned to open new tracks and start up new activities such as rafting and fishing," UWA boss, Moses Mapesa, told Business Vision at his office in Kampala.

He suggested that the oil exploration could be used as a bargaining chip to fast-track some of these projects.

"The companies drilling oil would have to contribute to a trust fund. We should not beg them for money. They have an obligation to support conservation in a transparent and sustainable manner - through the trust fund," Mapesa said.

Movement of animals

Conservationists are also worried about possible movement of animals once the testing of the new wells start.

"When they tested the previous two wells, the animals migrated," said Kenneth Mugira, the general manager of Paara Safari Lodge.

"They fled because of the disturbance caused by the vehicles and drilling but also because of the lights at night as exploration was going on 24 hours."

The stakeholders noted that it was not possible to determine at this stage where the animals would move to.

Since the animals cannot go to the south or the west because of the River Nile, they are bound to migrate to the east and the north and might cross into villages of Amuru district.

Environmental destruction

Another question bothering conservationists is the environmental destruction caused by the oil company.

Although an environmental impact assessment study was done for the previous wells, three months after Heritage left, Buffalo 1 looks like a big chunk eaten out of the landscape.

Despite promises to restore the area into its original state, the new road created by Heritage cuts right through the scenery and there is a visible clearing where the trucks and machines were parked.

The testing site itself, the size of two football pitches, looks barren, despite efforts by the oil company to replant some grass.

"There are a number of concerns about hazardous waste, chemical pollution of soil and the destruction of micro-organisms. We have tasked the company to have this corrected," said Mapesa.

A more fundamental question raised in the meeting was what would happen if sufficient oil deposits were found to warrant drilling. The first two wells proved to contain more gas than oil.

The stakeholders wondered what kind of machines would be used once extraction of gas or oil starts, and whether these would be visible or noisy. They also asked what would be done with the oil.

"Will there be a refinery in the park? Will the pipeline go through the park and will the pipes be on the surface or underground? Or will the oil be transported in containers? There were no answers to these questions."

Balancing oil and tourism

Realising that they cannot stop the oil exploration, the stakeholders asked UWA to have the sites tested one by one to minimise the disturbance, a request Mapesa supports.

"Let's have fewer sites drilled at a time since each site requires a support camp, roads and other infrastructure," he said.

The stakeholders also asked for off-tracking, which is allowed in Kenya but attracts a $100 fine in Uganda.

The main concern of the tourism sector, however, is the secrecy surrounding oil exploration activities in the park.

"The public does not know what is taking place. There is need for UWA to let everyone know what is going on," the stakeholders demanded.

Even if oil activities were transparent, it will be a challenge for the Government to strike a balance between its need for oil and increased revenues from tourism.

Tourism reached an all-time peak last year, with over 840,000 arrivals. On average, every tourist spends $750. This means that Uganda could have earned sh1.4 trillion from tourism in 2008.

That is why Mapesa has resisted degazetting Kabwoya and Semliki wildlife reserves for oil activities in the past.

That is also why President Yoweri Museveni defended him in a recent meeting at State House. "I was accused of blocking oil exploration and production," he narrates.

"But the President said: Mapesa is doing his job. This oil thing is temporary. In 30 or 50 years, it will not be there. The parks and the animals are there to stay. If UWA says exploration should be done with minimal impact, then that is the way to go."