Revamping Local Crafts Industries to Address Economic Inequalities among Victims of Environmental Conflicts in the Oil-Producing Communities of Urhobo, Niger Delta Region, Nigeria
Keywords:
Local Crafts, industries, economic inequalities, victims of environmental conflicts, oil-producing communities, UrhoboAbstract
The study focuses on solving the problem of economic inequalities caused by environmental conflicts in oil-producing communities of Urhobo land. The study canvasses a revamp of local craft industries to engage the people in the non-oil sector as a means of livelihood. The discovery and exploration of crude oil created environmental conflicts in the study area, leaving a trail of challenges that caused economic inequalities in the oil-producing communities. The explorative activities of the oil companies degraded the environment: it stifled economic development and created economic inequalities that arose from occupational distortion and destruction of the means of livelihood in oil-producing communities. The research design is an expository survey because it reveals the impacts of environmental conflicts on the economy of the Study Area. The research methodology is hybrid. Oral interviews and structured questionnaires were used to gather information. The research suggested alternative means of livelihood, including reviving the local economy through crop and fish farming and palm and rubber trees with attendant factories to process and produce allied materials. The reallocation of economic activities would enable victims of environmental conflicts to regain lost economic powers.
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