Welcome Harriet!

ELAW’s newest Fellow, Harriet Bibangambah from Kampala, Uganda, arrived on Monday.  Over the next two weeks she will work with the ELAW team to strengthen her organization, Greenwatch.  She will also attend the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) and meet ELAW partners from around the world.

Harriet is Program and Research Officer at Greenwatch, which promotes public participation in the sustainable use, management, and protection of the environment and natural resources, and the enforcement of Uganda’s Constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment.

“We work at all levels, including traveling to remote villages and sitting down with community members to hear their concerns and share information about oil and gas operations,” says Harriet.

French, British, and Chinese companies have a joint oil venture in the Albertine Rift, with test wells inside Murchison Falls National Park and oil exploration near Virunga National Park, across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Communities need access to information about these developments so they can participate in decisions about natural resources,” says Harriet.

Harriet is part of East Africa’s new generation of grassroots defenders.  ELAW has worked with Greenwatch for more than 10  years.

All the best,
Michele Kuhnle
Donor Liaison