Environmental Degradation and Development of Rural Economy in Rivers

This study has become very imperative due to the environmental degradation occasioned by hydrocarbon production in Rivers State. There has been series of conflicts between the indigenous people of the region and the major Oil Companies operating therein over the years. The region claims that the activities of the Oil Companies instead of improving have impoverished its people by causing a serious decline in their marine and agricultural resources, which constitute their economic main stay because of environmental pollution, there is drastic decline in the region¿s biodiversity and ecological resources, which are the main sources of their income and the people¿s mode of survival (Ashton, 1999). Also, there is an aspect of the health hazards posed to the inhabitants as a result of oil pollution of the environment, and hence there are environmental challenges as well as socio-economic problems created by adverse effects of oil mining, which has culminated into low agricultural productivity and poor farm yields sufficient enough to threaten the food security of Rivers State.