Paper short abstract:

The study examined environmental non-state actors' mitigation-adaptation response to wicked problems caused by artisanal gold mining in Osun State, Nigeria. This is to ascertain mitigation-adaptation scope and (un)motivations that impede or sustain quality environmental advocacy.

Paper long abstract:

Non-state actors involved in quality environmental advocacy and governance are considered elementally critical for their continual expansion, broad experience, depth of knowledge, and influence on state actions. Yet, sufficient documentation is required to show how this account has impacted wicked environmental problems caused by artisanal gold mining in Osun State, Nigeria. The study examined mitigation-adaptation actions towards rural health and environmental challenges caused by artisanal gold mining in selected communities in Osun State, Nigeria by environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs). This aimed to ascertain mitigation-adaptation scope and (un)motivations that either impede or sustain quality environmental advocacy. A concurrent mixed-method design using key informant interviewees (KIIs) and questionnaires was employed to collect relevant data from five purposively selected ENGOs in Osun State, six officials from the Osun State Ministry of Environment and Sanitation, Osun State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and Osun State Ministry of Health. Other key informants’ interviewees were 10 community leaders and 10 artisanal gold miners from the selected communities. The questionnaires were distributed to 384 participants from the 10 selected communities. The major finding among others showed how poor public/government perception of non-state actors, defective technical cooperation with state actors, declining advocacy competence of non-state actors, weak stakeholder engagement, inadequate research capacity, and security threats shape mitigation-adaptation actions, scope and motivations to quality environmental advocacy on artisanal gold mining in Osun State. The study contributes to unraveling changing patterns of non-state service provision, especially from Nigeria's quality environment policy dimension.