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This research examines psychosocial stress associated with shale gas development through the narratives of residents and the Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R). We carried out our research in three of England’s communities impacted by shale gas development. To gather data, we conducted qualitative interviews and engaged in participant observation in all three communities and conducted a quantitative survey of residents. From our qualitative interviews it was apparent that the residents we spoke with experienced significant levels of stress associated with shale gas development in each community. Importantly, residents reported that stress was not only a reaction to development, but a consequence of interacting with industry and decision makers. Our quantitative findings suggest that a significant portion of residents 14.1% living near the shale gas sites reported high levels of stress (i.e., scoring 24 or more points) even while the mean IES-R score of residents living around the site is relatively low (i.e., 9.6; 95% CI 7.5–11.7). We conclude that the experiences, of the three English communities, reported in the qualitative interviews and quantitative survey are consistent with the reports of stress in the United States for those residents who live in shale gas communities. We therefore suggest that psychosocial stress is an important negative externality, which needs to be taken seriously by local planning officers and local planning committees when considering exploration and development permits for shale gas.

Ghana is the first nation in Sub-Saharan Africa to attain independence from colonial rule in 1957. The country has numerous natural resources. Ghana is however plagued by poverty and under development. The mining industry is one of the challenging sectors the country is finding difficult to address. The rate of illegal and small scale mining is destroying Ghana's biodiversity. These problems can be address when there is in place functional institutional frameworks. This research will examine Ghana's mining industry against environmental governance frameworks such as co-management, stakeholder consultations, and collaborative environmental governance. This research employed case study approach and the analysis and evaluation of secondary data as well as face to face interview with some miners. At the end of this research, it was concluded that various stakeholders involved with mining in Ghana pursue their own interest to the detriment of the environment and the community in which the mines operate. With the empowerment of governmental institution and the local mining communities, Ghana can ripe a great benefit from its gold mines and also ensure the environment is not degraded to the detriment of future generations.

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