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Vol.2 , No. 5, Publication Date: Sep. 2, 2015, Page: 84-92
| [1] | Philip E. Agbonifo, University of Wales/Greenwich School of Management, London, UK. |
Environmental protection has considerable socioeconomic benefit, because the consequences of non protection like the situation in the Niger Delta communities are enormous. Regulations ought to be an intervening vehicle and a solution to the problem of environmental degradation. However, there is a manifest and continuing environmental degradation by oil and gas industry activities which points towards serious weaknesses in environmental regulations and standard setting. The failure of the environmental protection agencies to account for community’s perspectives provides a fertile ground for environmental degradation to persist. Thus, this paper identifies various shortcomings of the regulatory agencies, such as funding, inefficient allocation of resources, skilled manpower, institutional weaknesses, over centralisation and lack of political will as the plausible explanations that militate against the achievement of quality environment and sustainable development in the Niger Delta. The paper concludes that the lack of stringent measure left the oil and gas producing communities vulnerable with a long term social and economic consequences.
Keywords
Niger Delta, Environmental Degradation, Environmental Regulation, Policy, Rural Communities
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