Effects of crude oil spillage on the environment

 Effects of crude oil spillage on the environment .petroleum exploration in Nigeria has resulted to a whole lot of environmental hazards and have also rendered the Agricultural practices of the indegenes of the Niger delta area useless. Effects of crude oil spillage ,have been noted and properly tackled in this article.

Below are the Effects of crude oil spillage. petroleum exploration and production have had negative effects on aquatic environment and activities like fishing and farming which have greatly led to reduced agricultural practice in the Niger Delta region, which in the past was the major source revenue for the Nigerian economy.

Effects of crude oil spillage on Aquatic organisms

As a result of oil spillage,Aquatic organisms like fish now feed on bacteria which have consumed dissolved oxygen from the spilled hydrocarbons, which evidently leads to rapid depletion of fishes since they can not withstand the high organic quantity of these hydrocarbons. The Effects of crude oil spillage can never be over emphasized. The rate of death is even higher when fishes directly inhale such oxygen, thus making the region increasingly uninhabitable for other aquatic animals as well. Crude oil spillage has great adverse effect on growth and feed utilization of African cat fish, which has consequently reduced the economic yield of Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Effects of crude oil spillage on the ecosystem

Oil spillage has a major impact on the ecosystem. Major tracts of the mangrove forest, which are susceptible to the negative effect of crude oil  have been destroyed by the same, mainly because spilled oil is stored in the soil and released gradually. Crude oil spills in populated areas often spread out over a large area of land destroying crops and aquacultures through contamination of the groundwater and soils.
Due to the vast development in Oil industry in Nigeria, agriculture has been drastically affected as indigenous people can no longer plant crops in areas of oil exploration region, and aquatic animals hardly thrive in the the same region.
Effects of crude oil spillage on the economy
This has also led to economic instability, arising from militants disrupting commercial activities and causing riots and violence in various parts of the Eastern Nigeria. Enormous money had been derived from oil export but the area has been subjected to severe land degradation, socio-economic disorder, increasing poverty due to poor agricultural practice. etc.

It a popular opinion that the development of the Agricultural sector of the economy could be a great remedy. This should involve government at various levels and disbursement of money to the agricultural sector of the oil rich states, and the people must be enlightened and educated to stop pipeline vandalisation, violence, and settle for a more profitable job.