Prospects of Oil Spill Remediation in the Niger Delta, Nigeria: A Case Study of Bodo Creek

Remediation of oil spill contaminated sites is very important in the actualization of the goals of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UNDER) project. Conventional and artisanal oil explorations have resulted in several oil spill incidence within the Niger Delta. The volume of spilled oil in Bodo Creek was estimated to be 103,000 - 311,000 barrels. Shoreline flushing and artificial mangrove revegetation are key aspects of the remediation process. This review was done to assess the effect of the oil spill remediation on the recovery of flora and fauna in Bodo Creek. The data was mined from the literature on pre-spill, post-spill and post-remediation studies from the same study Stations in Bodo Creek. This review reported oil exploration and oil spills in the study area. The study reviewed oil spill remediation approaches as well as the highlights on the recovery trend of macroinvertebrate following oil spill remediation. Prospects of oil spill remediation including; oil degradation, improved economy, carbon sequestration and coastal protection are reported in this study. What is the correlation between oil spill remediation and the recovery of flora and fauna? We hypothesized that the remediation would result in faster recovery of macroinvertebrate. The study found that remediation results in faster recovery of macroinvertebrate. This paper concluded that further research is necessary in order to develop unique oil spill remediation approaches to serve as the template for oil spill remediation in other parts of the Niger Delta as proper oil spill remediation efforts are necessary to tackle the severe consequences of oil spills in the environment. There is a need for collaboration between the oil spill remediation agency and researchers. It is also important to publish findings from empirical studies on remediation.