Gas Flaring in Niger Delta Nigeria and Sustainability Development Goal Framework: Qualitative Survey of the Health Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation

Background: Petroleum exploitation and production have resulted in various environmental, socio-economic, political and health problems. This study is part of ongoing research to evaluate sustainability development goal in host communities of gas flaring operations.

Objective: The research purposes to generate thematic opinions of the community regarding the risks associated with gas flaring and evaluate the mitigation and adaptation programs of government and oil and gas companies in the Delta region, Nigeria.

Methods: This was qualitative with a quantitative component utilizing a survey of 8 open-ended and 2 semi-quantitative questions. Sample size was N = 488 and participants were over 18 years old. Thematic analysis adopted word cloud, followed by thematic aggregation and quantification.

Results: The response rates were 99.2%, 76.2%, 75.4% and 70.1% for Sections B, C, D, and F, respectively. Over 66% reported negative impacts of gas flaring including specifications of some health problems and stress and respiratory problems were most common. Lack of opinion e.g. on how oil and gas companies liaise with the community (47%) and on how government liaises with companies (63%) were observed.

Conclusion: While the majority of respondents had opinions, they however lacked knowledge regarding what the government and/or oil and gas companies could do on mitigation and adaptation on negative impacts of gas flaring. This therefore calls for awareness campaign and health promotion in the affected communities.