Abstract There has been an increase in land grabbing in the world over the years and the trend seems to be increasing in the same direction. Whereas, the phenomenon is said to be happening across all continents except Antarctica, in this Africa is the primary target. Uganda too has not been spared and the discovery of oil in 2006 added an insult to an injury. Though, the phenomenon has lived with the world for some good time, it continues to happen with less efforts being made to curb it. As a result, a study was carried out to gain a deeper understanding of the drivers of land grabbing in Uganda’s Albertine Graben. It was a desk study and employed an abductive approach though some primary data was also collected to back it up. The political economy approach was employed to understand the different political and economic dynamics involved in land grabbing. The study found out the issue of absentee land lords and the discovery of oil in 2006 as the main reasons that explain the occurrence of the phenomenon something that is different from the many scholars’ view that agricultural reasons are the main cause. Land grabbing was further seen as mainly negative as it leads to loss of economic livelihoods, lack of cooking energy, displacement of people among others. The study learned that massive sensitization of the people about their rights; strict implementation of the existing laws by the government would help to reduce or solve the problem. Key words, Land grabbing, land acquisition, Albertine Graben, Bunyoro, political economy approach.

The co-existence of oil and gas development and biodiversity conservation in protected areas is a worldwide challenge because of the risks posed by petroleum development in sensitive ecosystems. This research focuses on the relationship between petroleum development and biodiversity conservation in protected areas of the Ugandan Albertine Graben, to establish how these two sectors with different goals can co-exist without one sector significantly compromising the other. In 2006, Uganda confirmed the existence of commercially viable quantities of oil and gas in the Albertine Graben and, given Uganda's overwhelming energy needs and pressure for economic development, started to develop these resources. However, the area is also identified as a region of great importance for biodiversity conservation and is designated as a Biodiversity Hotspot, Ecoregion and Endemic Bird Area. Petroleum development has started to show impacts on wildlife, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, culture and communities. The research drew on the Driver, Pressure, State, Impact and Response (DPSIR) concept to identify the impacts of petroleum development and the wider issues that impact on biodiversity management and affect the livelihoods of communities living in and around the exploration areas. Data sources included literature, document analysis, field observations, focus groups and interviews. During the study 41 interviews involving 52 people from central and local government, private sector, non-governmental organisations, consultant and member of parliament; one focus group each in eight of the villages in the exploration areas were undertaken. The study examined current strategies to address the emerging issues of petroleum development and identified their limitations. It highlights the roles of stakeholders in developing and influencing responses in the management of the petroleum development, and makes recommendations for addressing the weaknesses currently not covered by the legislation and environmental management practices. A number of recommendations are made to ensure co-existence, including implementation of legal and regulatory frameworks, development of efficient and effective institutions to enforce and monitor the laws and regulations, maintenance of ecological integrity of protected areas and sensitive ecosystems, improving the effectivenes of environmental management tools for decision making, creating an enabling environment for participation of all stakeholders in the process, and promoting good governance. In addition, the co-existence between petroleum development and biodiversity conservation can be realised if more resources are committed by Government, NGOs, private sector for the environment sector, that there is political will to champion biodiversity conservation, a transparent decision making process, and stringent operating practices. Finally, all key stakeholders need to play a role in the petroleum development process and biodiversity conservation.