Participation and environmental governance in Niger Delta’s oil producing communities

In many developing countries where fossil fuel is extracted, multinational oil companies and state actors are prominent funders of community development projects. In Nigeria’s Niger Delta, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and their funders/transnational advocacy networks (TANs) have recently joined this funding conversation, adding to the multi-actor environmental governance system operating in the area. The success/impact of these projects depends on which members of the communities participate in decision-making on resource extraction and the sharing of benefits to oil-producing communities. In this study, twenty-four key informant interviewees answered questions on the presence of funded projects (by governments, ENGOs and TANs), the success of the projects, and community actors’ participation in environmental governance on resource extraction. Community actors pointed to some participatory challenges in the project governance structure, although the official tools adopted by governments, ENGOs and their foreign funders reported positive project impact. Findings also showed that community participation, accountability, physical presence of funders, and informal measurement tools produce positive social impact, more than project reports, websites and other documents. State actors, ENGOs, and foreign funders must deal with social inequities, politics and corruption in environmental governance to produce desired project outcomes. The success/acceptance of development projects by affected extractive communities is dependent on how participatory and inclusive the environmental governance structure is. Without co-production and negotiation of power in decision-making among stakeholders, projects are more likely to run into opposition and challenges related to social license.