THE IMPACT OF THE OIL INDUSTRY

ON THE NIGER AND VOLTA DELTA

NIGER DELTA

The Niger delta is a very highly populated region in southern Nigeria and is sometimes called the Oil Rivers due to high produces of palm oil. The delta first belonged to the British Oil Rivers from 1885-1893, but now officially belongs to the Nigerian government. The Niger Delta makes up 7,5% of Nigerias land mass and Is about 70,000km2.

The delta region consists of 6 provinces; Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Cross River. The region is home to 46 million people with more than 40 ethic groups and more than 250 different dialects.

The delta is rich in oil, in palmoil and fossil oil. There has been a lot of international controversy about the pollution due to the oil industry in the delta.

The niger delta is very biodiverse, supporting a wide variety of plant and animal life, as wel as lots of fishing which the population in the delta rely on.

VOLTA DELTA

The Volta delta is located in Ghana and flows from the northeast to the southeast. The delta has a very big lake in the middle of Ghana, which is called lake Volta. It is one of the biggest reservoirs in the world.

The biodiversity in the region is very high and the nature is very dynamic, providing rich resources for the people living in the delta.

The delta is relatively small and not very densely populated. Most people live out of agriculture and fisheries.