Description: Advances in the development of petroleum resources has contributed enormously to the global energy demand and economic development over the past decades, however, it has left profound negative impacts on the natural environment and adverse human health effects in most oil-producing host communities around the world. Apart from the loss of petroleum-derived revenue to corruption and ineffective government's petroleum development policies, the Niger Delta region has experienced a wide range of environmental pollution, degradation, human health risks and socio-economic problems associated with petroleum exploration, development and production. Over the years, several environmental laws have been institutionalized to regulate the petroleum sector in Nigeria. The Nigerian government and other African countries have played tremendous roles in the emergence of international environmental law that regulate the establishment of environmental institutions and legislations as well as strategies for conservation and management of natural resources. However, the existing Nigeria statutory laws and regulations for environmental protection appear to be grossly inadequate and some of the multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region have failed to adopt sustainable practices to prevent environmental pollution. Poor implementation of national and international environmental policies associated with petroleum exploitation and production in the Niger Delta region have resulted in huge environmental costs, degradation and issues of responsibilities from the oil companies. Therefore, this research paper examines some of the contributions of multinational oil companies operation towards environmental degradation and the role of Nigerian Government in the implementation of the petroleum-related environmental policies in the Niger Delta region.

Description:    In recent years, owing to global warming and the rising sea levels, beach nourishment and groin building have been increasingly employed to protect coastal land from shoreline erosion. These actions may degrade beach habitats and reduce biomass and invertebrate density at sites where they were employed. We conducted an eco-environmental evaluation at the Anping artificial beach-nourishment project area. At this site, sand piles within a semi-enclosed spur groin have been enforced by use of eco-engineering concepts since 2003. Four sampling sites were monitored during the study period from July 2002 to September 2008. The environmental impact assessment and biological investigations that we conducted are presented here. The results from this study indicate that both biotic (number of species, number of individual organisms, and Shannon-Wiener diversity) and abiotic parameters (suspended solids, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved inorganic phosphorus, total phosphorus, total organic carbon, median diameter, and water content) showed significant differences before and after beach engineering construction. Biological conditions became worse in the beginning stages of the engineering but improved after the restoration work completion. This study reveals that the composition of benthic invertebrates changed over the study period, and two groups of organisms, Bivalvia and Gastropoda, seemed to be particularly suitable to this habitat after the semi-enclosed artificial structures completion. Content Type Journal Article Pages 215-236 DOI 10.1007/s13344-011-0019-4 Authors Chun-Han Shih, Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617 China Yi-Yu Kuo, Department of Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 30010 China Ta-Jen Chu, Department of Leisure and Recreation Management, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, 30012 China Wen-Chieh Chou, Department of Civil Engineering, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, 30012 China Wei-Tse Chang, Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617 China Ying-Chou Lee, Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617 China Journal China Ocean Engineering Print ISSN 0890-5487 Journal Volume Volume 25 Journal Issue Volume 25, Number 2

Description: The industrial and agricultural revolutions have led to the development of a variety of chemicals ranging from insecticides, pesticides, fungicides and bactericides. However the demand for these chemicals led the manufacturers to manufacture the chemicals without considering the sustainability of using such chemicals. During the last half of the 20th century, the global environment has become contaminated with a number of persistent and fat-soluble chemical contaminants, commonly referred to as the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). These compounds generally have low water solubility, do not degrade readily in the environment, bio-accumulate in food chains, and have been linked to adverse health effects in both humans and wildlife. In order to develop appropriate strategies and institutional responses, it is pertinent to assess the prevalence of the variety of organic pollutants and the people’s understanding and awareness of POPs that pose a threat to the biophysical aspect of the environment, if used or disposed of in unsupervised means. Thus, this study sought to assess the inventory of POPs, level of awareness and measures used in dealing with the chemicals in Blantyre, Malawi. The researchers used a qualitative research design. The research instruments used were a questionnaire, key-informant interviews and observations. The study focused on Ndirande peri-urban area comprising Mulanje, Thyolo, Zomba, Chiradzulu and Njuli. A random sample of sixty-four respondents was selected and a total of 64 questionnaires administered. The survey covered 5 sites that included markets, agro-dealers, hardware shops, estates and chemical companies. Descriptive statistics were obtained from key- informant interviews and observations. Findings revealed that despite the banning of POPs in Malawi as a signatory to the Stockholm Convention of 2001, the illegal usage and selling of banned POPs was rampant with hardware shops, agro-dealers and vendors. The survey also revealed low level of awareness and knowledge about POPs pesticides especially among the general public in Ndirande Peri-urban. There was presence of Chlordane as the most common pesticide used to control termites and was mainly sourced by the local farmers from the market vendors, hardware shops and Agro-dealers. The pesticide DDT was identified as resurfacing with its source into the country linked to Mozambican traders. The majority of the farmers cited DDT as the main pesticide used to control termites and protect crops such as maize after harvest. In addition the survey revealed the presence of a power utility with a number of obsolete transformers suspected to be contaminated with PCBs still waiting to be disposed for incineration at Blantyre West Sub-station. The researchers observed that this placed at high risk the workers at the power utility of PCBs due to lack of adequate protective wear. It was observed that children were mainly exposed through improperly disposed obsolete pesticides, insecticides and chemical containers. The study concluded that there is need for education of people to ensure their awareness of the dangers associated with the illegal pesticides usage. Integrated Pest Management was recommended as the best alternative approach in peri-urban agriculture.