Impact of International Trade and Multinational Corporations on the Environment and Sustainable Livelihoods

Citation:

Hassan, Comfort, Janice Olawoye, and Kent Nnadozie. 2002. Impact of International Trade and Multinational Corporations on the Environment and Sustainable Livelihoods of Rural Women in Akwa-Ibom State, Niger Delta Region. Oyo State, Nigeria: Gender and Economic Reform for Africa (GERA) and Nigeria Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST).

Authors: Comfort Hassan, Janice Olawoye, Kent Nnadozie

Annotation:

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This report presents the findings of a study on the impact of international trade and multi-national corporations activities on the environment and sustainable livelihoods of rural women in some Ibeno communities and Ikot Ataku community both in Akwa–Ibom State of Southern Nigeria. The basic proposition underlying this study is that the economic policies that governments promote in the context of economic globalization have transformed in a negative way, productive individuals into mass consumers, tended to homogenize diverse cultural traditions, and destroyed wilderness and biodiversity all in the name of growth and efficiency. Economic growth in many ways has resulted in local dislocation and contributed to both local and global environment degradation. There is a conclusion also that the laws and regulations aimed at liberalizing trade and industry have not taken into consideration the concerns of the local population, in terms of the impact of these new approaches upon the ways and patterns the people have survived over time, including the array of activities they get engaged in. In the circumstances, global trade does not take into account or respond to the needs of rural people especially with regard to natural resource use, yet it is these resources that constitute a major plank of the livelihoods of rural dwellers. (3-4)

Topics: Economies, Environment, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Globalization, Livelihoods, Multi-National Corporations, Political Economies Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2002