The primary objective of the research was to assess the impact of
Atlantic Ocean on limited arable land on the inhabitants of Escravos metropolis
in Warri South-West Local Government Area (LGA), Delta State. The primary data
used for the investigation were obtained using structured questionnaire given
to 140 respondents. Anthropological methods of data collected (participants,
observation) were also employed. Simple statistical tools (percentage) were
used to analyze the acquired data. The result showed that 100% of the
respondents opined that Atlantic Ocean encroachment (land degradation) was one
of the major causes of limited arable land. While a mean of 65% of the
respondents claimed that pollution of land due to crude oil exploration also
caused limited arable land 46.67% mean of the respondent claimed that oil
companies occupy the large available arable land for operational base and flow
stations. The results also show that the impacts of Atlantic Ocean encroachment
on limited arable land in Escravos metropolis resulted to a mean of 74.29% of
unemployment in the host communities, which causes youth restiveness, oil
bunkering and pipeline vandalization in Escravos metropolis. 60% of the
respondents have migrated to urban centers as a result of scarcity of
foodstuffs, high cost of agricultural products and by-products and low
productivity of fishes in the area.
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