From regulatory hurdle to development tool
This PhD thesis, From Regulatory Hurdle to Development Tool: Strengthening Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in Infrastructure Planning in Uganda, critically examines the effectiveness of Uganda’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) system. Despite ESIA’s global role as a safeguard for sustainable development, in Uganda it often functions as a procedural hurdle rather than a genuine development tool.
The study investigates systemic governance failures that marginalize social issues and undermine equitable outcomes in major projects.Guided by four research sub questions, the thesis evaluates legislative and administrative adequacy, identifies recurring social impacts, explores causal governance linkages, and proposes reforms. Using a mixed methods, multi sectoral case study design, the research triangulates document analysis with extensive fieldwork: 224 key informant interviews and 59 focus group discussions involving 695 stakeholders across road infrastructure, tourism, and small scale gold mining.
Findings reveal persistent neglect of social concerns such as displacement, livelihood loss, gender based violence, and health risks exacerbated by fragmented institutional responsibilities, weak enforcement, corruption, and political interference. Road projects caused severe displacement and poor compensation; tourism developments risked disrupting traditional livelihoods; and small scale gold mining was marked by exploitation, health hazards, and conflict. The thesis concludes with a roadmap for reform: strengthening institutional coordination, re centering social dimensions in ESIA practice, mandating genuine community engagement, and enforcing accountability through robust follow up. By providing the first systematic, multi sectoral evaluation of Uganda’s ESIA system, the research contributes original evidence to debates on impact assessment in transitional economies and offers lessons of regional relevance for Sub Saharan Africa.