Tullow’s controversial drilling in Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda continues to threaten wildlife and local communities’ income, leading to increased opposition.

This picture from Tullow shows giraffes impacts by a nearby oil rig inside the park.

As reported in our February report “Cursed Contracts”, previous loud construction work by the oil companies in 2009 was followed by herds of elephants leaving the area and not returning until 5 months after drilling ended. The park is also home to giraffes, lions and rare birds.

It seems that the pressure from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority in Parliament and the release of our report made Tullow sit up and release that they needed to reinforce their PR operation. Seems they’ve brought in additional staff from London, and are offering to make certain new commitments over biodiversity. Begs the question why this wasn’t done in the first place, given the company’s claims to “best practice”?