Utilizing the tool of gis in oil spill management - a case study of Etche LGA, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study is concerned with creating an environmental resource database for Etche Local Government Area in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The study reveals the techniques that could be employed in oil spill management. The study was aimed at identifying the different activities and socio-economic component (infrastructures) that can cause oil spill in the study area and attempt at inventorying landuse/landcover that are likely to be affected by any oil spill in the area and build a viable database for oil spill management in the area. Data were collected and imported into GIS environment for analysis using ArcInfo 3.5.1 and ArcView 3.5. Results indicate that about 47.21%, almost half of the study area is cultivated. However, three (3) different buffer zones were created. The waterbodies in the area were identified as the major oil spill distributor. Out of total area of 391.2 km2 covered by the buffer region, cultivated land occupies the highest areal extent of 35.59%, while rubber plantation has the least areal
extent of about 0.64%. This confirms that cultivated land is more affected than any other landuse/landcover class in case of any spill in the area. Moreover, the study ranks waterbody as the most highly sensitive landuse/landcover category with ESI-I, with heavy mangrove forest followed by ESI-2 and ESI-3, respectively. The study has therefore demonstrated the effectiveness of GIS in the creation of a spatial database for monitoring and modeling oil spill in the area. The study also recommends that consistent ESI maps of the area should be prepared, and that such information should be made available when the need arises.

KEYWORDS: Geographic Information Systems, oil spill monitoring, oil spill management, environmental sensitivity index, contingency planning