ABSTRACT
The Niger Delta region has been associated with oil production activities for over eight decades but the presence of oil was first registered only in 1956 with the discovery at Oloibiri. Since then the region has increasingly grown to be the hub of Nigerian oil exploration and production activities. The Niger Delta is characteristically swampy, mainly inhabited by fishermen and peasant farmers, and in the early days (i.e. 1950s-1960s) the level of activities was low as the scope for production was limited. For this reason, major ecological disruptions were not recorded. With advancement in technology and expansion of entrepreneurial zeal, the ranks of the producing companies increased thereby resulting in a corresponding increase in the impact of these activities on the environment. It is important to state that early exploration activities, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, involved seismic activities on land, swamps, shallow waters and in the mangrove forest. Such activities involved seismic shots which were associated with vibrations capable of causing cracks in weak houses, and the companies were often confronted by host communities to pay compensation for damaged private buildings, community halls, schools, hospitals and church buildings. In some areas economic and tree crops destroyed by seismic crew activities were also paid for by the companies. These incidents, in most cases, were settled amicably although complications were often experienced when impostors also filed claims for farm land which had already been settled. In the swampy mangroves, no definite claims would be filed except in cases where fishing villages were involved. Such activities destroyed extensive areas of mangrove forests and the scars of damage remain for years, after which other trees grow to replace vegetation destroyed as a result of chemical toxicity.
