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Social License Effects on Conflict Management and Oil Pollution in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria

Received: 7 April 2023    Accepted: 8 May 2023    Published: 18 May 2023
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Abstract

Social License to operate is an important tool for achieving successful oil operations in any community. Conflicts are constant happenings in the Niger Delta. These conflicts sometimes, get so severe occasioning destruction of property and avoidable killings. Conflicts between oil companies and host communities are mainly due to lack of Social License to operate This paper examined the impact of Social License on conflict management and oil pollution in the Niger Delta. The study was conducted in six communities, two each from Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa States respectively. These states have the highest incidence of oil pollution in the region. A simple random sampling technique was used to select households for the study. The sample size was 157. Structured Interview schedule constituted the instrument for data collection. The study identified low community involvement as the highest factor, amongst the main causes of conflict in the Niger Delta region, indicating that a high-level community involvement by way of Social License ensures a peaceful co-existence between oil companies and communities. The study also identified that though artisanal crude oil refining impacts negatively on the environment and livelihoods in the Niger Delta, host community members do not react violently or oppose its operations due to high level community involvement. This signifies Social License. It was thus recommended that operating oil companies in the Niger Delta region should have high level community involvement in their actions to avoid conflicts.

Published in International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (Volume 8, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13
Page(s) 56-61
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Conflict Management, Community, Oil Pollution, Social License, Niger Delta

References
[1] Okaba, B. O. (2005). Petroleum industry and the paradox of rural poverty in the Niger Delta. Benin: Ethiope Publishing Corporation.
[2] Ite, A. E. & Ibok, U. J. (2013). Gas flaring and venting associated with petroleum exploration. Science and Education Publishing 1 (4).
[3] Olaitari, D. I. (2015). Environmental impact of oil spillage and degradation in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. World Journal of Soil, Water and Air Pollution 2 (1), August 2015, pp. 1- 15, ISSN: 2377-5300.
[4] Worgu, S. (2000). Hydrocarbon exploitation and environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, Lund University, Sweden.
[5] Odisu, T. A (2015). The Nigerian State, oil multinationals and environment: A case study of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, 7 (2), 24-28, March 2015.
[6] Eze, A. G & Eze, T. C (2014). A survey of the legal framework for the control of oil and gas pollution from some selected countries. Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, 31.
[7] Kadafa, A. A. (2012). Environmental impacts of oil exploration in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Environment and Earth Sciences 2 (3).
[8] Ikelegbe, A. (2011). Popular and Criminal Violence as Instruments of Struggle in the Niger Delta Region, Zed Books New York and London.
[9] Balogun, T. F (2015). Mapping Impacts of Crude Oil theft and Illegal Refineries on Mangrove of the Niger Delta of Nigeria with Remote Sensing Technology Mediterranean. Journal of Social Sciences MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy, 6 (3) May 2015.
[10] Obenade, M. & Amangabara, G. T. (2012). The socio-economic implications of oil theft and artisanal refining in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. International Journal of Science and Research, 3 (7).
[11] Howard, I. C., Azuatola O. D. & Abiodun I. K. (2017). Investigation on impacts of artisanal refining of crude oil on river bed sediments. Our Nature 15 (1-2) 34-43.
[12] Falode, Ogedengbe and Bickersteth (2006). Managing Environmental Conflicts in the Oil Producing Areas of Nigeria. Trends in Applied Sciences Research 1 (3), 259-272. doi: 10.3923/tasr.2006.259.272.
[13] Joyce, S. and Thomson I. (2000), Earning a social licence to operate: Social acceptability and resource development in Latin America. CIM Bulletin 93 (1037): 49–53.
[14] Williams. K. (2014). How Important is a Social Science to Operate? Retrieved from https://www.geologyforinvestors.com/important-social-licence-operate/
[15] Ejovi, A. & Ebie, C. S. (2013). Niger Delta: A critical appraisal of the amnesty programme and social political development in Nigeria. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3 (22).
[16] Black, L. (2013). The Social Licence to Operate: Your Management Framework for Complex Times. Do Sustainability. Oxford, UK DOI: 10.4324/9781351275163.
[17] Posleman, C., S. & Sallan, J. M. (2019). Social licence to operate in mining industry; the case of Peru. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 37 (6).
[18] Graham J., Lefsrud L. M. & Fast S. (2017), Social License to operate: Legitimacy by another name? Canadian Public Administration 60 (2), 293-317.
[19] Wustenhagen, R., Wolsink, M. &Burer, M. (2007). Social acceptance of Renewal Energy Innovation: An Introductionto the concept. Energy Policy 35 (5) 2683-2691 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2006.12.001
[20] Bhattarai, K. P. (2005): “Livelihood Strategies of Squatter Households in an Urban Environment, A Case Study of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal”. University of Bergen, Bergen Norway.
[21] Adger, W. N. et al (2003). Adaptation to climate change in the developing world, Progress in Development Studies 3, 179–195.
[22] Carney, D. (1998). Implementing the sustainable rural livelihood approach, in Carney, D (ed), Sustainable Rural Livelihoods, what contributions can we make? 3-23 Department for International Development (DFID), London UK.
[23] International Centre for Investigative Reporting (2014) Burning of Bush Refineries Threaten Environment in Niger Delta. Retrieved from www.icirnigeria.org
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Tonbra Robert Odubo, Tonye Vivien Odubo. (2023). Social License Effects on Conflict Management and Oil Pollution in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 8(2), 56-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13

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    ACS Style

    Tonbra Robert Odubo; Tonye Vivien Odubo. Social License Effects on Conflict Management and Oil Pollution in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. Int. J. Nat. Resour. Ecol. Manag. 2023, 8(2), 56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13

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    AMA Style

    Tonbra Robert Odubo, Tonye Vivien Odubo. Social License Effects on Conflict Management and Oil Pollution in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. Int J Nat Resour Ecol Manag. 2023;8(2):56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13,
      author = {Tonbra Robert Odubo and Tonye Vivien Odubo},
      title = {Social License Effects on Conflict Management and Oil Pollution in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria},
      journal = {International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management},
      volume = {8},
      number = {2},
      pages = {56-61},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnrem.20230802.13},
      abstract = {Social License to operate is an important tool for achieving successful oil operations in any community. Conflicts are constant happenings in the Niger Delta. These conflicts sometimes, get so severe occasioning destruction of property and avoidable killings. Conflicts between oil companies and host communities are mainly due to lack of Social License to operate This paper examined the impact of Social License on conflict management and oil pollution in the Niger Delta. The study was conducted in six communities, two each from Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa States respectively. These states have the highest incidence of oil pollution in the region. A simple random sampling technique was used to select households for the study. The sample size was 157. Structured Interview schedule constituted the instrument for data collection. The study identified low community involvement as the highest factor, amongst the main causes of conflict in the Niger Delta region, indicating that a high-level community involvement by way of Social License ensures a peaceful co-existence between oil companies and communities. The study also identified that though artisanal crude oil refining impacts negatively on the environment and livelihoods in the Niger Delta, host community members do not react violently or oppose its operations due to high level community involvement. This signifies Social License. It was thus recommended that operating oil companies in the Niger Delta region should have high level community involvement in their actions to avoid conflicts.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    T1  - Social License Effects on Conflict Management and Oil Pollution in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria
    AU  - Tonbra Robert Odubo
    AU  - Tonye Vivien Odubo
    Y1  - 2023/05/18
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13
    T2  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    JF  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    JO  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
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    EP  - 61
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20230802.13
    AB  - Social License to operate is an important tool for achieving successful oil operations in any community. Conflicts are constant happenings in the Niger Delta. These conflicts sometimes, get so severe occasioning destruction of property and avoidable killings. Conflicts between oil companies and host communities are mainly due to lack of Social License to operate This paper examined the impact of Social License on conflict management and oil pollution in the Niger Delta. The study was conducted in six communities, two each from Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa States respectively. These states have the highest incidence of oil pollution in the region. A simple random sampling technique was used to select households for the study. The sample size was 157. Structured Interview schedule constituted the instrument for data collection. The study identified low community involvement as the highest factor, amongst the main causes of conflict in the Niger Delta region, indicating that a high-level community involvement by way of Social License ensures a peaceful co-existence between oil companies and communities. The study also identified that though artisanal crude oil refining impacts negatively on the environment and livelihoods in the Niger Delta, host community members do not react violently or oppose its operations due to high level community involvement. This signifies Social License. It was thus recommended that operating oil companies in the Niger Delta region should have high level community involvement in their actions to avoid conflicts.
    VL  - 8
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Author Information
  • Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria

  • Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria

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