Mitigating the Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Exploitation: Issues of Compliance, Cost of Production, and Community Awareness

This study assessed the effectiveness of mitigation measures adopted to address the environmental effects of oil and gas industries from the perspective of compliance, cost of production, and community awareness. The research applied a case study through multi-method-qualitative and quantitative approaches. The target population of 547,368 people involved people in Takoradi, Shama and Newtown communities. A sample size of 150 was selected and categorised under 36% for Shama, 30% for Newtown and 34% for Takoradi. A combination of probability (simple random) and non-probability (cluster and convenience) sampling frames were used to access the respondents for the study. Data collection tools were limited to questionnaires and interview sessions. The descriptive statistics, Relative Importance Index (RII) and significance testing using a one-sample t-test module guided the analysis. Interview sessions were compiled into transcripts and later categorized into themes that directly reflected the patterns of the questions on the questionnaire. The conclusion rated major decisions in mitigating oil and gas impacts on the environment as first for conscious effort to package fuel and other chemicals in safe storages, followed by the use of best road systems to reduce the risk of accidents, then application of strict rules and regulations to curb impacts and lastly capacity building for participants in the oil and gas production industry. While significant measures have been adopted to mitigate the effects of oil and gas exploration, there remain challenges with effectiveness as a result of weakness in community involvement efforts, lack of motivation, weak laws and regulations and loss of respect. For effectiveness in reducing the challenges to mitigate the environmental impacts of the oil and gas production activity, policymakers, as well as the practitioners in the oil production industry, are advised to motivate people into buying into their policy to reduce such impacts.

Community Perceptions and Socio-Demographic Influence on Trophy Hunting in Rungwa Game Reserve, Tanzania

The trophy hunting industry in Tanzania plays a significant role in wildlife conservation as well as economic and community development. Trophy hunting has been conducted in Rungwa Game Reserve (RGR) for several decades;however, the trophy hunting opinions from the local communities living adjacent to the reserve are not well documented. This study aimed to assess the awareness and attitudes of local communities living adjacent to Rungwa Game Reserves toward trophy hunting. Furthermore, the study assessed factors that influenced the opinions of participants by using structural equation modeling. We used semi-structured interviews and key informant interviews in the three villages adjacent to RGR. The local communities are aware of existing hunting operations around the game reserves. The study found positive attitudes among local communities toward trophy hunting, only if local people accrue benefits from hunting operations. The community’s attitudes towards trophy hunting varied across household size and occupation. Education and household position had an indirect influence on the community’s attitude. Our findings suggest that socio-demographic variables are important to consider when assessing awareness and attitudes toward trophy hunting. Local communities are willing to support trophy hunting operations if the benefits obtained from hunting are significant and it can improve wildlife conservation and their livelihood. In conclusion, trophy hunting is important to local communities living adjacent to protected areas, and banning them may have a significant impact on their livelihood and wildlife conservation. Therefore, it is recommended that conservation policies and interventions consider the dual significance of trophy hunting, fostering strategies that balance socio-economic benefits for communities and wildlife conservation.

Supporting tuberculosis program in active contact tracing:a case study from Pakistan

Tuberculosis(TB)is on the rise in Pakistan and there could be multiple reasons including poverty,difficulty in access to TB treatment services,non-compliance with treatment,social stigma etc.According to the TB program managers,limited treatment and testing sites for tuberculosis and lack of trained human resources play a major role in compromising TB management.A major lacuna in the TB control program is the absence of active contact tracing strategy.This is essential for a disease where positive cases are known to be able to infect a further 10-15 individuals in a year.Tackling tuberculosis in Pakistan has been beleaguered by funding challenges and other systems’bottlenecks such as lack of skilled human resources and insufficient supply of medicines,despite the fact that disease burden is one of the highest in the world.Although it is a notifiable disease,active case finding,contact tracing and reporting is notoriously low throughout the country.Access to diagnostics and treatment facilities has been limited and stigma attached to the disease remains deeply entrenched among the communities.Researchers have shown that enhanced and active approaches to contact investigation effectively identifies additional patients with TB among household contacts at a relatively modest cost.USAID’s Integrated Health Systems Strengthening and Service Delivery Activity extended support to the Health Departments of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.In collaboration with the two provincial TB programs,community based active contact tracing was conducted on 17,696 individuals,based on the index cases.Among the contacts traced,243 cases were diagnosed as drug sensitive or drug resistant TB.Awareness sessions were conducted to sensitize people on the various aspects of disease and importance of getting tested.The project also supported establishing three satellite Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis(PMDT)sites for drug resistant TB treatment,enhancing the programs’diagnostic and testing capacity.