Mineral resource active regions: The need for systems thinking in management

Alozie Alaoma; Nikolaos Voulvoulis; Alozie Alaoma; Nikolaos Voulvoulis

doi:10.3934/environsci.2018.2.78

AIMS Environmental Science

2018, Volume 5, Issue 2: 78-95. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2018.2.78

Previous Article Next Article

Research article

Mineral resource active regions: The need for systems thinking in management

Alozie Alaoma ,
Nikolaos Voulvoulis ^,

Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK

Received: 26 September 2017 Accepted: 04 March 2018 Published: 16 April 2018

Energy and mineral resource extraction has fuelled economic development in the modern world but has caused unprecedented environmental destruction. Economically viable to extract resources are not evenly distributed but found in a few regions of the world due to unique geologic characteristics. Inequity in distribution of resource benefits and environmental costs predispose these regions to resource conflict and war. Traditional resource management has failed to address their complexity, with most models utilised lacking multi-disciplinary perspective. Understanding the complexity of these regions is a key prerequisite for their management to be effective and sustainable. Here, we investigate the potential of re-assessing mineral resource active regions from a systems perspective. Findings demonstrate that the application of systems thinking in resource management has the potential to deliver benefits to all stakeholders while maintaining ecological integrity. System tools offer an alternative to the reductionist end-of-pipe thinking of traditional resource management and policies. Rather than simply relying on competition, focusing on the interdependencies between the various players and sectors in these regions can deliver system improvements that should be further investigated because of their potential to deliver integrated and holistic solutions that could benefit all involved.
- mineral active region,
- environment,
- complexity,
- traditional management,
- systems thinking
Citation: Alozie Alaoma, Nikolaos Voulvoulis. Mineral resource active regions: The need for systems thinking in management[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2018, 5(2): 78-95. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2018.2.78

Related Papers:

Abstract

Energy and mineral resource extraction has fuelled economic development in the modern world but has caused unprecedented environmental destruction. Economically viable to extract resources are not evenly distributed but found in a few regions of the world due to unique geologic characteristics. Inequity in distribution of resource benefits and environmental costs predispose these regions to resource conflict and war. Traditional resource management has failed to address their complexity, with most models utilised lacking multi-disciplinary perspective. Understanding the complexity of these regions is a key prerequisite for their management to be effective and sustainable. Here, we investigate the potential of re-assessing mineral resource active regions from a systems perspective. Findings demonstrate that the application of systems thinking in resource management has the potential to deliver benefits to all stakeholders while maintaining ecological integrity. System tools offer an alternative to the reductionist end-of-pipe thinking of traditional resource management and policies. Rather than simply relying on competition, focusing on the interdependencies between the various players and sectors in these regions can deliver system improvements that should be further investigated because of their potential to deliver integrated and holistic solutions that could benefit all involved.

References

[1]	Asafu-Adjaye J, Environmental Economics for Non-Economists. Techniques and Policies for Sustainable Development. World Scientific, 2005.
[2]	Bridge G (2004) Contested Terrain: Mining and the Environment. Annu Rev Environ Resour 29: 205–259. doi: 10.1146/annurev.energy.28.011503.163434
[3]	Roseland M (2000) Sustainable community development : integrating environmental , economic, and social objectives. Prog Plann 54: 73–132.
[4]	Voulvoulis N, Skolout JWF, Oates CJ, et al. (2013) From chemical risk assessment to environmental resources management: the challenge for mining. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20: 7815–7826. doi: 10.1007/s11356-013-1785-8
[5]	Bryan BA, Grandgirard A, Ward JR (2010) Quantifying and exploring strategic regional priorities for managing natural capital and ecosystem services given multiple stakeholder perspectives. Ecosystems 13: 539–555. doi: 10.1007/s10021-010-9339-0
[6]	De Groot RS, Wilson MA, Boumans RMJ (2002) A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. Ecol Econ 41: 393–408. doi: 10.1016/S0921-8009(02)00089-7
[7]	Boyd J, Banzhaf S (2007) What are ecosystem services? The need for standardized environmental accounting units. Ecol Econ 63: 616–626.
[8]	Osuji LC, Erondu ES, Ogali RE (2010) Upstream petroleum degradation of mangroves and intertidal shores: The Niger Delta experience. Chem Biodivers 7: 116–128. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.200900203
[9]	Solomon F, Katz E, Lovel R (2008) Social dimensions of mining: Research, policy and practice challenges for the minerals industry in Australia. Resour Policy 33: 142–149. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2008.01.005
[10]	Humphreys M, Sachs J, Stiglitz J (2007) Escaping the Resource Curse. Columbia University Press.
[11]	Bhattacharyya S, Hodler R (2010) Natural resources, democracy and corruption. Eur Econ Rev 54: 608–621. doi: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2009.10.004
[12]	Ross M (2006) A closer look at oil, diamonds, and civil wars. Annu Rev Polit Sci 8: 265–300.
[13]	Leite C, Weidmann J (1999) Does Mother Nature Corrupt? Natural Resources, Corruption, and Economic Growth. International Monetary Fund.
[14]	Ekins P (2002) Economic and Environmental Sustainability: The prospects for Green Growth. Routledge, London, 374p.
[15]	O'Lear S (2012) Oil and energy, In: Environmental Politics Scale and Power, S. O'Lear, Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 55–86.
[16]	Mehlum H, Moene KO, Torvik R (2002) Plunder & Protection Inc. J Peace Res 39: 447–459. doi: 10.1177/0022343302039004005
[17]	Commission of the European Communities (2000) Promoting Sustainable development in the EU non-energy extractive industry. Communication from the commission.COM (2000) 265.
[18]	Franks DM, Brereton D, Moran CJ (2013) The cumulative dimensions of impact in resource regions. Resour Policy 38: 640–647. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.07.002
[19]	Corvalan C, Hales S, McMichael AJ (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis. World health organization, 2005.
[20]	Laurenti R (2013) Applications of Systems Thinking within the Sustainability Domain : Product Design, Product Systems and Stakeholder Perspectives. Ph.D. dissertation, School of Industrial Engineering and Management KTH Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Sweden.
[21]	Young N, Matthews R (2007) Resource economies and neoliberal experimentation: the reform of industry and community in rural British Columbia. AREA 39: 176–185. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00739.x
[22]	Doloreux D, Amara N, Landry R (2008) Mapping regional and sectoral characteristics of knowledge-intensive business services: Evidence from the Province of Quebec (Canada). Growth Change 39: 464–496. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2257.2008.00434.x
[23]	Pan J, Oates CJ, Ihlenfeld C, et al. (2010) Screening and prioritisation of chemical risks from metal mining operations, identifying exposure media of concern. Environ Monit Assess 163 555–571.
[24]	Moran CJ, Kunz NC (2014) Sustainability as it pertains to minerals and energy supply and demand: a new interpretative perspective for assessing progress. J Clean Prod 84: 16–26. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.008
[25]	MMSD (Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development) (2002) The Report of the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project. International Institute for Environment and Development and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, TD195.M5 B74 2002.
[26]	Peck P, Sinding K (2003) Environmental and social disclosure and data richness in the mining industry. Bus Strateg Environ 12: 131–146. doi: 10.1002/bse.358
[27]	Kitula AGN (2006) The environmental and socio-economic impacts of mining on local livelihoods in Tanzania: A case study of Geita District. J Clean Prod 14: 405–414. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.01.012
[28]	Kindzierski WB (1999) Importance of human environmental exposure to hazardous air pollutants from gas flares. Environ Rev 8: 41–62.
[29]	Rourke DO, Connolly S (2003) Just Oil? The Distribution of Environmental and Social Impacts of oil Production and consumption. Energy 28: 587–617.
[30]	Azapagic A (2004) Developing a framework for sustainable development indicators for the mining and minerals industry. J Clean Prod 12: 639–662. doi: 10.1016/S0959-6526(03)00075-1
[31]	Kuemmerle T, Baskin L, Leitão PJ, et al. (2014) Potential impacts of oil and gas development and climate change on migratory reindeer calving grounds across the Russian Arctic. Divers Distrib 20: 416–429. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12167
[32]	Ite AE, Ibok UJ (2013) Gas Flaring and Venting Associated with Petroleum Exploration and Production in the Nigeria's Niger Delta. Am J Environ Prot 1: 70–77. doi: 10.12691/env-1-4-1
[33]	Esteves AM (2008) Mining and social development: Refocusing community investment using multi-criteria decision analysis. Resour Policy 33: 39–47. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2008.01.002
[34]	Kohl B, Farthing L (2012) Material constraints to popular imaginaries: The extractive economy and resource nationalism in Bolivia. Polit Geogr 31: 225–235. doi: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2012.03.002
[35]	Khoday K, Perch L (2012) Development from below: Social Accountability in Natural Resource Management. Working Paper, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, No. 91.
[36]	Isham J, Woolcock M, Pritchett L, et al. (2005) The varieties of resource experience: Natural resource export structures and the political economy of economic growth. World Bank Econ Rev 19: 141–174. doi: 10.1093/wber/lhi010
[37]	Auty RM (1995) Industrial Policy, Sectoral Maturation, and Postwar Economic Growth in Brazil: The Resource Curse Thesis. Econo Geography 71: 257–272. doi: 10.2307/144311
[38]	Sachs JD,Warner AM (1997) Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth. Center for International Development and Harvard Institute for International Development.
[39]	Sachs JD,Warner AM (2001) The curse of natural resources. Eur Econ Rev 45: 827–838. doi: 10.1016/S0014-2921(01)00125-8
[40]	Australian Academy of Science (1995) Notes of the Fenner Conference on the Environment: Risk & Uncertainty in Environmental Management, 13–16 November, Becker House, Canberra.
[41]	Bebbington DH (2013) Extraction, inequality and indigenous peoples: Insights from Bolivia. Environ Sci Policy 33: 438–446. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2012.07.027
[42]	Bulte EH, Damania R, Deacon RT (2005) Resource intensity, institutions, and development. World Dev 33: 1029–1044. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.04.004
[43]	Akpabio EM, Akpan NS (2010) Governance and Oil Politics in Nigeria's Niger Delta: The Question of Distributive Equity. J Hum Ecol 30: 111–121. doi: 10.1080/09709274.2010.11906280
[44]	Jaskoski M (2014) Environmental Licensing and Conflict in Peru's Mining Sector: A Path-Dependent Analysis. World Dev 64: 873–883. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.07.010
[45]	Tiainen H, Sairinen R, Novikov V (2014) Mining in the Chatkal Valley in Kyrgyzstan-Challenge of social sustainability. Resour Policy 39: 80–87. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.11.005
[46]	Gylfason T (2001) Natural Resources, Education And Economic Develpoment. Europ Econ Rev 45: 847–859.
[47]	Cockx L, Francken N (2016) Natural resources: A curse on education spending? Energy Policy 92: 394–408. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.02.027
[48]	Vásquez JA, Vega JMA, Matsuhiro B, et al. (1999) The ecological effects of mining discharges on subtidal habitats dominated by macroalgae in northern Chile: Population and community level studies. Sixteenth Internatinal Seaweed Symposium Springer, Dordrecht, 217–229.
[49]	Urkidi L (2010) A glocal environmental movement against gold mining: Pascua-Lama in Chile. Ecol Econ 70: 219–227. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.05.004
[50]	Mendoza-Cantú A, Heydrich SC, Cervantes IS, et al. (2011) Identification of environmentally vulnerable areas with priority for prevention and management of pipeline crude oil spills. J Environ Manage 92: 1706–1713. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.02.008
[51]	LeBillon P (2001) Angola's Political Economy of War: The Role of Oil and Diamonds , 1975–2000. Afr Aff (Lond) 100: 55–80. doi: 10.1093/afraf/100.398.55
[52]	Reed K (2009) Crude Existence. Environment and the politics of oil in northern angola. University of California Press, 340p.
[53]	Mantovani ET (2017) Indigenous Warao (Orinoco Delta) contaminated by Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana and illegal mining, Venezuela. Ejolt - Environmental Justice, 2017. Available from: https://ejatlas.org/conflict/indigenas-warao-en-el-bajo-delta-del-orinoco-contaminados-por-desechos-de-la-corporacion-venezolana-de-guayana-y-de-la-mineria-ilegal.
[54]	Watts M (2004) Resource curse? governmentality, oil and power in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Geopolitics 9: 50–80.
[55]	Odeyemi O, Ogunseitan OA (1985) Petroleum industry and its pollution potential in Nigeria. Oil Petrochemical Pollut 2: 223–229. doi: 10.1016/S0143-7127(85)90218-2
[56]	Nduka JKC, Orisakwe OE, Ezenweke LO, et al. (2008) Acid rain phenomenon in niger delta region of Nigeria: economic, biodiversity, and public health concern. Scientific World J 8: 811–818. doi: 10.1100/tsw.2008.47
[57]	Orisakwe OE, Asomugha R, Obi E, et al. (2001) Ecotoxicological study of the Niger-Delta area of the River Niger. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 66: 548–552. doi: 10.1007/s00128-001-0042-x
[58]	Ana GREE, Sridhar MKC, Asuzu MC (2010) Environmental risk factors and hospital-based cancers in two Nigerian cities. J Pub Health Epidemiol 2: 216–223..
[59]	Ekpoh IJ, Obia AE (2010) The role of gas flaring in the rapid corrosion of zinc roofs in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Environmentalist 30: 347–352. doi: 10.1007/s10669-010-9292-7
[60]	Donwa P (2011) Environmental accounting and host community agitation in Nigeria: The petroleum industry experience. Int Rev Bus Res Pap 7: 98–108.
[61]	Zaidi S (1994) Human health effects of oil development in the Ecuadorian Amazon: A challenge to legal thinking. Environ Impact Assess Rev 14: 337–348. doi: 10.1016/0195-9255(94)90005-1
[62]	Hurtig AK, San Sebastián M (2002) Geographical differences in cancer incidence in the Amazon basin of Ecuador in relation to residence near oil fields. Int J Epidemiol 31: 1021–1027. doi: 10.1093/ije/31.5.1021
[63]	San Sebastián M, Hurtig AK (2005) Oil development and health in the Amazon basin of Ecuador: the popular epidemiology process Soc Sci Med 60: 799–807.
[64]	Finer M, Jenkins CN, Pimm SL, et al. (2008) Oil and Gas Projects in the Western Amazon: Threats to Wilderness, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples. PLoS One 3: 2932–2008. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002932
[65]	Da silva EM, Pes-Aguiar MC, Navarro MDFT, et al. (1997) Impact of petroleum pollution on aquatic coastal ecosystems in Brazil. Environ Toxicol Chem 16: 112–118. doi: 10.1002/etc.5620160112
[66]	Zanardi E, Bı́cego MC, Weber RR (1999) Dissolved/dispersed Petroleum Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the São Sebastião Channel, São Paulo, Brazil. Mar Pollut Bull 38: 410–413. doi: 10.1016/S0025-326X(97)00194-X
[67]	Netalieva I, Wesseler J, Heijman W (2005) Health costs caused by oil extraction air emissions and the benefits from abatement: The case of Kazakhstan. Energy Policy 33: 1169–1177. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2003.11.014
[68]	Dahl C, Kuralbayeva K (2001) Energy and the environment in kazakhstan. Energy Policy 29: 429–440. doi: 10.1016/S0301-4215(00)00137-3
[69]	Rigina O (2002) Environmental impact assessment of the mining and concentration activities in the Kola Peninsula, Russia by multidate remote sensing. Environ Monit Assess 75: 11–31.
[70]	WalkerTR, Crittenden PD, Dauvalter VA, et al. (2009) Multiple indicators of human impacts on the environment in the Pechora Basin, north-eastern European Russia. Ecol Indic 9: 765–779. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2008.09.008
[71]	Walker TR, Crittenden PD, Young SD, et al. (2006) An assessment of pollution impacts due to the oil and gas industries in the Pechora basin, north-eastern European Russia. Ecol Indic 6: 369–387. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2005.03.015
[72]	Reimann C, Halleraker JH, Kashulina G, et al. (1999) Comparison of plant and precipitation chemistry in catchments with different levels of pollution on the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Sci Total Environ 243/244: 169–191. doi: 10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00390-3
[73]	Perreault T, Valdivia G (2010) Hydrocarbons, popular protest and national imaginaries: Ecuador and Bolivia in comparative context. Geoforum 41: 689–699. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2010.04.004
[74]	Bebbington AJ (2014) Socio-environmental conflict: an opportunity for mining companies. J Clean Prod 84: 34. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.108
[75]	Farrán A, Grimalt J, Albaigés J, et al. (1987) Assessment of petroleum pollution in a Mexican river by molecular markers and carbon isotope ratios. Mar Pollut Bull 18: 284–289. doi: 10.1016/0025-326X(87)90506-6
[76]	Vázquez-Luna D (2012) Environmental bases on the exploitation of crude oil in Mexico. In: Crude Oil Exploration in the World. M.Younes, Ed. InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/crude-oil-exploration-in-the-world/environmental-bases-on-the-exploitationof-crude-oil-in-mexico.
[77]	Hettler J, Irion G, Lehmann B (1997) Environmental impact of mining waste disposal on a tropical lowland river system: A case study on the Ok Tedi Mine, Papua New Guinea. Miner Depos 32: 280–291. doi: 10.1007/s001260050093
[78]	Swales S, Storey AW, Bakowa KA (2000) Temporal and spatial variations in fish catches in the Fly River system in Papua New Guinea and the possible effects of the Ok Tedi copper mine. Environ Biol Fishes 57: 75–95. doi: 10.1023/A:1007513906281
[79]	Hilson G (2002) An overview of land use conflicts in mining communities. Land use policy 19: 65–73. doi: 10.1016/S0264-8377(01)00043-6
[80]	Walton G, Barnett J (2007) The Ambiguities of 'Environmental' Conflict: Insights from the Tolukuma Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea. Soc Nat Resour 21: 1–16. doi: 10.1080/08941920701655635
[81]	O'Faircheallaigh C (2008) Negotiating cultural heritage? Aboriginal-mining company agreements in Australia. Dev Change 39: 25–51.
[82]	Wright IA,Wright S, Graham K, et al. (2011) Environmental protection and management: A water pollution case study within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, Australia. Land use policy 28: 353–360. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2010.07.002
[83]	Weng Z, Mudd GM, Martin T, et al. (2012) Pollutant loads from coal mining in Australia: Discerning trends from the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). Environ Sci Policy 19: 78–89.
[84]	Ostrom E (2009) A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science 325: 419–422. doi: 10.1126/science.1172133
[85]	Barma NH, Kaiser K, MinhLe T, et al. (2012) Rents to Riches? The political economy of Natural Resource–Led Development. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/International Development Association, The World Bank: Washington, DC, 298p.
[86]	Acheson JM (2006) Institutional Failure in Resource Management. Annu Rev Anthropol 35: 117–134. doi: 10.1146/annurev.anthro.35.081705.123238
[87]	Tarui N (2015) The Role of Institutions in Natural Resource Use. In: Balisacan et al., editors, Sustainable Economic Development. Oxford: Academic Press, pp. 123–136.
[88]	Kumah A (2006) Sustainability and gold mining in the developing world. J Clean Prod 14: 315–323. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.08.007
[89]	Spitz K, Trudinger J (2008) Minerals, Wealth and Progress. In: Mining and the Environment From Ore to Metal, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group. 1–25.
[90]	Kaup BZ (2008) Negotiating through nature: The resistant materiality and materiality of resistance in Bolivia's natural gas sector. Geoforum 39: 1734–1742. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2008.04.007
[91]	Ako RT (2009) Nigeria's Land Use Act: An Anti-Thesis to Environmental Justice. J Afr Law 53: 289. doi: 10.1017/S0021855309990076
[92]	Aaron KK (2012) New corporate social responsibility models for oil companies in Nigeria's delta region: What challenges for sustainability? Prog Dev Stud 12: 259–27.. doi: 10.1177/146499341201200401
[93]	Nzimande Z, Chauke H (2012) Sustainability through responsible environmental mining. J South. African Inst Min Metall 112: 135–139.
[94]	Punam CP, Dabalen D, Land BC, et al. (2015) Socioeconomic Impact of Mining on Local Communities in Africa. Washington, DC, 2015 Working Paper. Report No: ACS14621.
[95]	Puppim de Oliveira JA (2000) Implementing Environmental Policies in Developing Countries: Responding to the Environmental Impacts of Tourism Development by Creating Environmntally Protected Areas in Bahia, Brazil. Ph.D. dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
[96]	Ascher W (2001) Coping with complexity and organizational interests in natural resource management. Ecosystems 4: 742–757. doi: 10.1007/s10021-001-0043-y
[97]	Rodela R (2012) Advancing the deliberative turn in natural resource management: An analysis of discourses on the use of local resources. J Environ Manage 96: 26–34. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.10.013
[98]	Bossel H (2001) Assessing Viability and Sustainability: a Systems-based Approach for Deriving Comprehensive Indicator Sets. Conserv Ecol 5: 12. doi: 10.5751/ES-00228-050112
[99]	Coria J, Sterner T (2011) Natural Resource Management: Challenges and Policy Options. Annu Rev Resour Econ 3: 203–230. doi: 10.1146/annurev-resource-083110-120131
[100]	Franks D, Brereton D, Moran CJ (2009) Surrounded by Change–Collective Strategies for Managing the Cumulative Impacts of Multiple Mines. SDIMI Conf, 6–8.
[101]	Bellamy JA, Mcdonald GT, Syme GJ (1999) Policy Review Evaluating Integrated Resource Management Soc Nat Resour 12: 337–353.
[102]	Hoyle D (2009) ISO 9000 Quality Systems Handbook - updated for the ISO 9001:2008 standard, Sixth Edit. Elsevier Ltd, pp. 111–135.
[103]	Moser T (2001) MNCs and sustainable business practice: The case of the Colombian and Peruvian petroleum industries. World Dev 29: 291–309. doi: 10.1016/S0305-750X(00)00094-2
[104]	Rammel C, Stagl S, Wilfing H (2007) Managing complex adaptive systems - A co-evolutionary perspective on natural resource management. Ecol Econ 63: 9–21. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.12.014
[105]	Axelrod R, Cohen MD (1999) Harnessing Complexity: Organizational Implications of a Scientifc Frontier. New York: Free Press,184p.
[106]	Collier P, Hoeffler A (2005) Democracy and Natural Resource Rents. Working Paper Series. ESRC Global Poverty Research Group.
[107]	Petak WJ (1981) Environmental management: A system approach. Environ Manage 5: 213–224. doi: 10.1007/BF01873280
[108]	Stave K (2010) Participatory system dynamics modeling for sustainable environmental management: Observations from four cases. Sustainability 2: 2762–2784. doi: 10.3390/su2092762
[109]	Mingers J, Rosenhead J (2004) Problem structuring methods in action. Eur J Oper Res 152: 530–554. doi: 10.1016/S0377-2217(03)00056-0
[110]	Ludwig D, Hilborn R, Walters C (1993) Uncertainty, Resource Exploitation, and Conservation: Lessons from History. Ecol Appl 3: 547–549.
[111]	Ballard C, Banks G (2003) The Anthropology of Mining. Annu Rev Anthropol 32: 287–313. doi: 10.1146/annurev.anthro.32.061002.093116
[112]	Hodge A (2014) Mining company performance and community conflict: moving beyond a seeming paradox. J Clean Prod 84: 27–33. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.007
[113]	Jike VT (2004) Environmental Degradation, Social Disequilibrium, and the Dilemma of Sustainable Development in the Niger-Delta of Nigeria. J Black Stud 34: 686–701. doi: 10.1177/0021934703261934
[114]	Obinaju BE, Alaoma A, Martin FL (2014) Novel sensor technologies towards environmental health monitoring in urban environments: A case study in the Niger Delta (Nigeria). Environ Pollut 192: 222–231. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2014.02.004
[115]	Salako A, Sholeye O, Ayankoya S (2012) Oil spills and community health: Implications for resource limited settings. J Toxicol Environ Heal Sci 4: 145–150. doi: 10.5897/JTEHS12.056
[116]	Adesopo AA, Asaju AS (2004) Natural Resource Distribution , Agitation for Resource Control Right and the Practice of Federalism in Nigeria. J Human Ecol 15: 277–289. doi: 10.1080/09709274.2004.11905705
[117]	Ipingbemi O (2009) Socio-economic implications and environmental effects of oil spillage in some communities in the Niger delta. J Integr Environ Sci 6: 7–23. doi: 10.1080/15693430802650449
[118]	Lockwood M, Davidson J, Curtis A, et al. (2010) Governance Principles for Natural Resource Management. Soc Nat Resour 23: 986–1001. doi: 10.1080/08941920802178214
[119]	Mccubbin M, Cohen D (1999) A systemic and value-based approach to strategic reform of the mental health system. Heal Care Anal 7: 57–77. doi: 10.1023/A:1009443902415
[120]	McSherry R (2004) Practice development and health care governance: A recipe for modernization. J Nurs Manag 12: 137–146. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2004.00461.x
[121]	Bunch MJ (2003) Soft systems methodology and the ecosystem approach: A system study of the Cooum River and environs in Chennai, India. Environ Manage. 31: 182–197. doi: 10.1007/s00267-002-2721-8
[122]	Marshall R, Brown D (2003) The Strategy of Sustainability: A Systems Perspective of Environmental Initiatives. California Manage Rev 46: 101–126. doi: 10.2307/41166234
[123]	Kropff MJ, Bouma J, Jones JW (2001) Systems approaches for the design of sustainable agro-ecosystems. Agric Syst 70: 369–393. doi: 10.1016/S0308-521X(01)00052-X
[124]	Tejeda J, Ferreira S (2014) Applying systems thinking to analyze wind energy sustainability. Procedia Comput Sci 28: 213–220. doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2014.03.027
[125]	Checkland PB (1988) Information systems and systems thinking: Time to unite? Int J Inf Manage. 8: 239–248. doi: 10.1016/0268-4012(88)90031-X
[126]	Checkland PB, Haynes MG (1994) Varieties of Systems Thinking: the Case of Soft Systems Methodology. Syst Dyn Rev 10: 189–197. doi: 10.1002/sdr.4260100207
[127]	Reed MS, Graves A, Dandy N, et al. (2009) Who's in and why? A typology of stakeholder analysis methods for natural resource management. J Environ Manage 90: 1933–1949.
[128]	Magner J (2011) Tailored Watershed Assessment and Integrated Management (TWAIM): A Systems Thinking Approach. Water 3: 590–603. doi: 10.3390/w3020590

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2018 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)