Abstract:
This study was conducted at Balila area, West Kordofan State, Sudan in September 2018. The
aim of this study was to examine the impacts of oil exploration and production operation on
pastoralism at Balila area. Three communities being, Balila, Elshag and Elfrdus were selected for
the study. The study employed both primary and secondary sources for data collection. Primary
data involved administration of structured questionnaire to 139 inhabitants using simple random
sampling. Three focus groups discussions were carried out in each of the three sites. Descriptive
statistics were used to analyze the data using SPSS software program (version 22). Data were
presented on the basis of frequencies and percentages. Results indicated low human capital
development with the majority of respondents (97.2%) being illustrate or with basic education.
Results revealed that majority of the interviewed inhabitants confirmed adverse effects of oil
exploration and production activities on the environment and consequently on their livelihoods.
Perception of respondents towards these negative impacts confirmed: decline of soil fertility
(82.7%);shrinkage of rangeland (79.1%); dropping in crops yields(70.5%); deforestation(89.9%);
contamination of both surface and groundwater(61.9%) and increase in morbidity(99.3%) and
mortality(87.8%) among livestock. Further, community individuals agreed that they are
vulnerable to health hazards such as cancer, kidney failure, skin irritation, and miscarriage and
fertility problems.
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