Estimating Environmental & Biodiversity Costs of Oil Pipeline Development in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda: CSF Discussion Paper - Number 10 December 2015

Commercially viable quantities of oil and gas resources have been discovered in the Albertine Rift region of Uganda. This is estimated to yield up to 6.5 billion barrels of oil. Some of this discovery lies in the biodiversity hotspot of Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP), which contributes to national development as it is a major source of tourism revenue and offers other ecological benefits of immense value. The country plans to construct a pipeline to evacuate the oil from the national park to the Central Processing Facility (CPF) in Buliisa district. Construction of this pipeline has potential to negatively impact the ecosystem and biodiversity of the national park. These costs are often ignored in project design and implementation as frequently developers consider them external to the project. This study identifies and estimates the otherwise less emphasized environmental and biodiversity costs (compared to economic benefits) with respect to pipeline infrastructure development in MFNP. Also, it shows methodologies that can be used to incorporate these costs into the definition of pipeline routes and to guide other mitigation measures.