Environmental Impact of Oil Pollution on Income and Livelihood Sustainability in Rural Communities of the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

The environment of the Niger Delta region has been devastated by oil pollution for years, leading to problems of sustainable traditional livelihoods and poor socio-economic circumstances. Though the pollution started with oil exploration and production activities of multinational oil companies, the sources of oil pollution increased years later to include activities, such as oil bunkering and artisanal crude oil refining. This has resulted in a further degradation of the environment and destruction of livelihoods. This paper compared the environmental impact of oil pollution on income and sustainable livelihoods before and during the era of artisanal crude oil refining in the Niger Delta region. The cross-sectional survey research design was used for the study. 314 respondents actively participated in the research. Respondents were drawn from six communities in the Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa States. Both primary and secondary data were used. Focus group discussions and structured interview schedules were the instruments used for the collection of the primary data. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used to test if artisanal crude oil refining, a major source of oil pollution, has a significant impact on income. The test revealed that the activity has a significant impact on income. From the study, oil pollution also affects forests and biodiversity, occupational tools, financial capacity and human health. It was thus, recommended that government should provide relevant infrastructure, credit facilities, modular refineries and other things to discourage artisanal crude oil refining and boost farming and fishing to ensure the sustainability of the traditional livelihood strategies in the Niger Delta region.