University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School August 2018 Assessing the Impacts of Ghana’s Oil and Gas Industry on Ecosystem Services and Smallholder Livelihoods Michael Acheampong University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons, and the Geography Commons Scholar Commons Citation Acheampong, Michael, "Assessing the Impacts of Ghana’s Oil and Gas Industry on Ecosystem Services and Smallholder Livelihoods" (2018). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/8100 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Assessing the Impacts of Ghana’s Oil and Gas Industry on Ecosystem Services and Smallholder Livelihoods by Michael Acheampong A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography and Environmental Science & Policy School of Geosciences College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Fenda Akiwumi, Ph.D. Ambe Njoh, Ph.D. Ruiliang Pu, Ph.D. Philip van Beynen, Ph.D. Foday M. Jaward, Ph.D. Date of Approval: July 17, 2018 Keywords: Ecosystem Services, Political Ecology, Oil Industry, Smallholder Livelihoods, Ghana Copyright © 2018, Michael Acheampong DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my dearest late sister, Lydia Opoku (Ataa Akosua), with whom I started this academic journey and will always be a pillar of my life. Even though she did not see the end, I know she never abandoned me. Sister Ataa, Damirifa Due!! ACKNOWLEGMENT First of all, I am grateful to God for His protection and guidance throughout this program. For keeping her head up to ensure our dreams become a reality even during the seemingly impossible times, I want to say, God bless my mother, Madam Mary Achiaa. I am grateful for the support of my entire family: my partner, Bryana Wall; my brothers, Samuel Acheampong, Otuo Acheampong, and Clement Antwi; and my sister, Dorcas Acheampong. I pray for God’s continual grace and mercies upon us all. I owe sincere and earnest thankfulness to my major advisor and professor, Dr. Fenda A. Akiwumi for her kind supervision without which this project would not have been successful. She has been an incredible inspiration to me through this journey. All the support and great comments have been very much appreciated. Without a doubt, your unique insights into issues greatly enhanced the quality of this work and gave it a clear direction. I would like to show my gratitude to each of my supervising committee members. To Dr. Foday M. Jaward, I will to say a big thank you for availing yourself and your resources to me all the time, and providing the necessary support for me to successfully execute complete the laboratory component of this study. I am eternally grateful for your motivation. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Professor Ambe J. Njoh for your support in helping me develop a robust study with mixed methods. Thank you, Dr. Pu for equipping me with the knowledge of remote sensing, and providing very valuable feedback to make my work a success. To Dr. Philip van Beynen, I say thank you for all the valuable feedback and giving me your time throughout this project. My appreciation also goes to the whole of the School of Geosciences, Dr. Kevin Yelvington for chairing my examining committee on a short notice. Also, to Dr. Kwado Asante, Dr. Isaac Hodgson, Ms. Saada Mohammed, and all the staff of Water Research Institute for granting me access to your laboratory for this project. I would also to acknowledge my colleagues and office mates for the incredible support system they have been. Thank you Lucy Deba Enomah, Qiuyan Yu, Michael Eduful, Shakhawat Tanim, and every one of them not mentioned here. I am truly indebted to all of you. My appreciation goes to the people of Whindo, Assakae, Ngyiresia, and Atuabo for availing themselves to make this study a success. I will like to thank the metropolitan and district authorities, chiefs, and opinion leaders who granted me access to their communities. Special thanks go to Higher Heights International Church for providing me a home away from home. To my family and friends, I appreciate all the help and efforts. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER 1. Introduction and Background of Study .................................................................................. 1 1.1. Gaps in Literature ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.2. Problem Statement .................................................................................................................... 9 1.3. Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2. Theoretical Considerations and Concepts ............................................................................ 12 2.1. Political Ecology ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.2. Understanding the Concept of Unequal Power Relations through World-Systems Theory ........................................................................................................................... ….18 2.3. Ecosystems services ................................................................................................................ 25 2.4. Conceptual Framework, Research Questions and Parameters of Study ................................. 34 CHAPTER 3. Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 40 3.1. Natural Resources in Africa- The Story of Exploitation and Consequences .......................... 40 3.2. Natural Resource Exploitation in Ghana ................................................................................. 45 3.3. Oil Exploitation in Ghana – History, Hopes, and Fears .......................................................... 50 3.4. The History and Lessons of Oil Exploitation in Nigeria- A story of ecological warfare and social conflicts .............................................................................................. 56 3.5. Previous studies and Evidence of Impact of Oil Exploration on Marine and Coastal Ecosystems........................................................................................................................ 62 3.6. Previous Studies on the Resource Boom-Urbanization-Ecosystems-and-Livelihoods Nexus ................................................................................................................................ 66 i CHAPTER 4. Study Area, Research Design and Methodology ................................................................. 72 4.1. Study Area .............................................................................................................................. 72 4.2. Rationale for Mixed Methods ................................................................................................. 78 4.3. Methodology for Research Question One ............................................................................... 79 4.3.1. Discussion of Methodology ..................................................................................... 79 4.4. Methodology for Research Question Two .............................................................................. 85 4.4.1. Discussion of Methodology ..................................................................................... 86 4.5. Methodology for Research Question Three ............................................................................ 95 4.5.1. Discussion of Methodology ..................................................................................... 95 4.6. Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 98 4.6.2. Data analysis for Water and Sediment Samples ..................................................... 99 4.6.3. Analysis of Surveys, Focus Group Discussions and Semi-Structured Interviews. ...................................................................................................... 101 4.7. Ethical Considerations ......................................................................................................... 102 CHAPTER 5. Demographic Characteristics of Survey Respondents ....................................................... 104 5.1. Gender ................................................................................................................................. 104 5.2. Place of Residence ..............................................................................................................