By Cirrus Kabale
This week as the world leaders and conservation experts are meeting in Paris, France for the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, taking place from 6th to 16th July 2025. One of the key discussions focused on the progress of the strategy for World Heritage in Africa. During this session, concerns were raised about the potential impact of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) on protected natural areas particularly the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Tanzania.
While the EACOP project does not directly cross the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, both the pipeline’s route and NCA lie within Tanzania’s Internal Drainage Basin (IDB), a closed watershed where water does not flow to the sea. For instance, the Lake Eyasi Drainage Basin, part of the Internal Drainage Basin is crossed by an estimated 235km of the pipeline, with the shortest distance to the lake being approximately 100km. Given Lake Eyasi’s ecological hydrogical, and socio-economic connections with the NCA, pollution in the lake could significantly affect the NCA.
Studies advocating for a basin wide approach to protecting the NCA emphasizes that Ngorongoro waters originate as a rainfall outside the crater area and travel as rivers or underground streams into the basin, meaning what happens upstream can easily affect the entire ecosystem. In case of any oil spills, no matter how small, could find their way into these water flows and cause long-term damage to the environment, animals, and the people who depend on it.
The biggest concern is that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) prepared by the EACOP project that does not take this risk seriously enough. It briefly mentions that the pipeline crosses the Internal Drainage Basin and might affect surface and underground water, but it does not provide any detailed plan or proper study of how an oil spill might harm the Ngorongoro area or the people living nearby. There is no basin-wide environmental assessment, and that is a big mistake.
During the UNESCO meeting this week, several participants raised this issue and called on the Committee to urgently monitor how EACOP might impact Ngorongoro. This should serve as a strong warning to both the Tanzanian government and the companies building the pipeline. Protecting this World Heritage site should not be taken lightly.
We therefore recommend that the Tanzanian government require EACOP developers to carry out a complete environmental study that covers the entire Internal Drainage Basin. This study must look at what would happen if there are oil spills, accidents, or leakages especially how they might affect Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro, and the many communities that depend on these natural resources.
This is not just about protecting a tourist attraction. It is about protecting water, wildlife, and the lives of Indigenous and local communities who depend on the environment for their survival. It is about ensuring that oil development does not destroy the very ecosystems that support life in this region.
If we do not act now, the risks could become reality. Once oil gets into the water, the damage will be long-lasting, and no amount of money will bring back lost biodiversity or clean up all the pollution.
Let this moment in Paris be the turning point. Let leaders in Tanzania, Uganda, and across East Africa listen and act to protect Ngorongoro and our shared environment before it is too late.
For God and My Country
Cirrus Kabaale,
Chief Executive Officer at Strategic Response on Environmental Conservation
ckabaale@strecug.org
