“Participation, Environmental Impacts, and Livelihood Sustainability in Oil and Gas Projects: Evidence from the EACOP in Tanzania”

Despite widespread adoption of Local Content Policies (LCP) and environmental safeguards, few studies systematically examine how large-scale oil and gas (O&G) projects, such as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Tanzania, interact with environmental stressors and governance mechanisms to shape host communities’ livelihood resilience. This study addresses the question: How do environmental impacts and participation approaches influence the sustainability of household livelihoods strategies along the EACOP corridor in Misenyi District? An exploratory qualitative design was employed, comprising 330 in-depth interviews, five focus group discussions, and document review. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) guided thematic analysis across natural, physical, human, social, and financial capitals. Findings reveal that participation in environmental decision-making is predominantly top-down, marginalizing women, youth, and informal actors. Environmental externalities including dust, noise, and infrastructure damage significantly disrupted both farm and non-farm livelihoods. Mitigation measures, such as road watering and hygiene campaigns, were largely reactive, inconsistently implemented, and insufficient to strengthen community resilience. The study underscores a critical gap between policy frameworks, such as Tanzania’s LCP, and lived experiences, which constrains household adaptive capacity. Strengthening inclusive participation, implementing proactive environmental management, and aligning interventions with local livelihood strategies are recommended to enhance resilience and safeguard community capitals.