Gendered environmental impacts of Chinese investments in Uganda: Improving informed responsiveness in Uganda-China relations.

Cooperating countries: Uganda and Austria

Coordinating institution: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Julia Christine Marinaccio j.marinaccio@fh-kaernten.at 

Partner institution: Kabale University

Project duration: 

Abstract: 
Over the past two decades, China has invested some $160 billion in Africa. Research has extensively examined this presence, focusing on socio-economic outcomes and motivations. Recently, the Chinese government has positioned itself as a global sustainability promoter, championing its vision of sustainability and promising to support recipient countries based on multilateralism and mutual respect. Moreover, stricter environmental and gender equality guidelines were incorporated into Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects. Studies report mixed findings on compliance, environmental impact, and gender-related effects across countries and projects. While Africa stands to benefit from Chinese investment and partnerships, critics highlight the limited preparedness in proactive engagement with the BRI. This raises the question of what kind of knowledge key African stakeholders need to anticipate and deal with the multiple implications of partnering with China, especially when striving for gender-transformative environmental solutions. This project makes two critical contributions. It examines the understudied link between environment and gender in Chinese investments in an exhaustive case study on Uganda, the second largest recipient country in East Africa. By mapping projects based on type and governance, it captures diverse experiences and outcomes of China-led interventions and uses a gender-specific approach to examine environmental changes resulting from these projects. It shares these insights with key stakeholders in Uganda, laying the groundwork for a broader follow-up project to strengthen relevant expertise in Ugandan local communities, universities, and government agencies.