Geo narratives: Mapping local perspectives on the socio-ecological realities of extractivism in the Niger Delta

• Geo-narratives reveal how extractive impacts are experienced at community scale. • Participatory mapping informs inclusive and context-sensitive governance approaches. • Local knowledge exposes gaps in technocratic environmental regulation and underlying policy incoherence. • Spatial narratives reveal regulatory blind spots and uneven enforcement, compounded by the near-absence of state infrastructure and services. • Geo-narratives strengthen evidence for socially responsive extractive governance. This article examines the socio-ecological impacts of oil and gas activities in four communities in the Niger Delta using a political ecology lens and environmental justice perspective. Drawing on participatory mapping, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, the study reveals that community exposure to extractive infrastructure is both spatial and structural—defined not just by proximity to pipelines and facilities but also by systemic neglect, weak governance, and infrastructural deficits. The concept of “structural exposure” is introduced to explain how absence of services (e.g., roads, hospitals, potable water) amplifies harm in affected communities, while the idea of “exposure displacement” captures how ecological pressure migrates when resource users are pushed into contested or degraded areas. These dynamics deepen environmental and livelihood vulnerabilities and are often mediated by institutional inaction. Findings highlight a range of community impacts—environmental degradation, cultural erosion, psychological stress, and socio-political disempowerment—as well as coping strategies such as artisanal refining, self-medication, and overexploitation of non-oil resources. These responses, while pragmatic, are often maladaptive, reinforcing cycles of vulnerability in the absence of state or corporate support. The analysis shows that harm is not evenly distributed but shaped by differentiated access to institutional protection, reinforcing patterns of environmental injustice. By linking these lived experiences to broader policy and governance failures, this article offers a grounded empirical base for subsequent governance and actor-network analysis and contributes to global debates on extractivism, vulnerability, and environmental justice.