Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Wind, hydro and other renewables · Multiple (Uganda, DR Congo, Rwanda) · 1991

Mountain gorilla census counts 1,063; Bwindi Batwa evicted in 1991 without compensation

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

A 2016 to 2018 census counted at least 1,063 mountain gorillas in the Bwindi and Virunga populations, up from about 240 in Virunga in the 1980s. The recovery is set against the Batwa people's compensation claim, which a Ugandan court found unmet and which the government has appealed.

What?
A 2016 to 2018 census counted at least 1,063 mountain gorillas in Bwindi and Virunga, while Batwa removed from Bwindi in 1991 were not paid compensation. Mongabay
Where?
Bwindi forest (Uganda), Virunga (DR Congo), within the mountain gorilla range that also includes Rwanda
When?
Batwa removal in 1991; Bwindi listed as a World Heritage site in 1994; census 2016 to 2018; court ruling in August 2021.
Who?
Gained
  • Mountain gorillas in Bwindi and Virunga — Counted at 1,063 in the 2016 to 2018 census, up from about 240 in Virunga in the 1980s Mongabay
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Batwa people of Bwindi — Removed from the forest in 1991 without compensation; the 2021 court ruling found the compensation inadequate Daily Monitor
Why?
The removal is linked to the creation of the Bwindi and Mgahinga gorilla parks; the sources reviewed give no further reason.
How?
Park creation with removal of the Batwa from the forest and no compensation paid; the 2021 ruling is under appeal. Daily Monitor
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

A 2016 to 2018 census of the Bwindi and Virunga populations counted at least 1,063 mountain gorillas, Mongabay reported in December 2019.

Mongabay also reported that the Virunga population had fallen to about 240 in the 1980s.

Batwa people were removed from Bwindi forest in 1991 without compensation being paid, the Daily Monitor reported.

In August 2021 Uganda's Constitutional Court unanimously found that the Batwa were left landless without adequate compensation and left the remedy to a higher court; the government appealed.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2021-08Ongoing
      Batwa eviction compensation case
      Constitutional Court of Uganda · constitutional · Batwa people of Bwindi → Government of Uganda

      The court ruled unanimously that the Batwa were left landless without adequate compensation and left the remedy to a higher court. The government appealed. Daily Monitor

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: between 150 and 175 Virunga rangers have been killed since 1996.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give the number of Batwa people removed from Bwindi or the amount of compensation owed.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the government's appeal has been decided.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Law and courts

    Constitutional Court
    The highest court for questions of constitutional rights in a country.

    Places and local terms

    EACOP
    The East African Crude Oil Pipeline, planned to carry oil from western Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.
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