" Total's response to "Compensation glitches cited in oil-rich areas”, paper published in the Daily Monitor, September 24, 2018"

Total as a group and Total E&P Uganda are committed to the conservation of wildlife, environment and biodiversity during our operations, and minimizing our potential impacts, both environmental and social. We do this, among other things, by putting systems in place to ensure that our activities have limited impact on the environment and the biodiversity. We make sure as well that we take into account the social environment of our activities...

During the exploration and appraisal phase, Total E&P Uganda has a dedicated team of 8 Community Liaison and Tourism Officers (CTLOs) on site, who maintained permanent open dialogue with the Districts and communities, about our activities as well as those of our service providers. All engagements are undertaken by Total E&P Uganda. Total E&P Uganda is not familiar with any Human/wildlife conflict in Panyamur subcounty, Pakwach district. All studies and information collected (mentioned above) does not indicate that elephants have invaded crops in this area. It is important to note that this area is across the river (which is a natural barrier for elephant given its width and depth) and to the best of our knowledge, currently, it is not a distribution area of elephants.

 Grievances associated with the Project are addressed through a transparent and impartial process in line with international best practice such as IFC, United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Right and the IPIECA Community Grievance Mechanisms guide. All grievances are received and registered by the CTLO either directly or by calling them on a tool free line 0800 216 000 (as for today, more than 350 grievances since 2012 have been sorted). These are then investigated with the involvement of various stakeholders including district leaders depending on the grievance. Engagements are regularly conducted by the CTLOs and in addition a number of studies have been conducted.