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Assessing the perceived impact of exploration and production of hydrocarbons on households perspective of environmental regulation in Ghana

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Abstract

This paper seeks to critically study the perceived impacts of the exploration of hydrocarbons in selected coastal communities in the Western region, the oil and gas industry benefits to local communities, and to determine whether hydrocarbon development is a means for sustainable development. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches using a questionnaire survey, key informant interview, and focus group discussion tools to understand the impact of oil and gas exploration and production in selected affected communities along the coast of Ghana. The activities of oil production and exploration impact negatively on communities; it also leads to a sharp increase in food prices thereby increasing their costs of living. The activity has also caused a decline in fish catch levels which happens to be the main economic activity as a result of exclusion zones created by oil companies which limited the extent fishermen can go fishing. In terms of infrastructure, the three communities are lacking, 77% of respondents from Princess Town hold the view that there is no motorable road linking their community in the next town and 60% from Aketakyi also hold the same view. Infrastructure such as roads, schools, water provision, and clinics are woefully provided in these communities.

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The data that support the findings of this study are openly available on request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Finance, Jiangsu University, Zhejiang, 212013, People’s Republic of China

    David Ajene Alemzero, Muhammad Mohsin & Ngonadi Josiah Chukwuma

  2. Department of Business Administration, Ghazi University D. G. Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan

    Nadeem Iqbal

  3. School of Business and Management, Superior University, Lahore, Pakistan

    Sajid Iqbal

  4. School of Management Sciences, Quid E Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Burhan Ali Shah

Authors
  1. David Ajene Alemzero
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  2. Nadeem Iqbal
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  3. Sajid Iqbal
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  4. Muhammad Mohsin
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  5. Ngonadi Josiah Chukwuma
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  6. Burhan Ali Shah
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Contributions

David Ajene Alemzero: conceptualization, data curation, methodology, writing - original draft. Nadeem Iqbal: data curation, visualization. Sajid Iqbal: visualization, supervision, editing. Muhammad Mohsin: review and editing. Ngonadi Josiah Chukwuma: writing - review and editing and software. Burhan Ali Shah: writing - review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nadeem Iqbal.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. We declared that we do not have human participants, human data, or human tissue.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Alemzero, D.A., Iqbal, N., Iqbal, S. et al. Assessing the perceived impact of exploration and production of hydrocarbons on households perspective of environmental regulation in Ghana. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 5359–5371 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10880-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10880-3

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