The Social Impacts of Dam

Construction

Anthony Oliver-Smith

University of Florida

Webinar

Amazon Dams Program

April 17, 2014

Who is Affected by Dam Construction and

Operation?

• At least 6 communities, all internally differentiated

• Upstream communities: the displaced and those

remaining in place, environmental changes.

• Downstream communities: environmental changes;

some migration

• Dam resettled peoples-resettlement project change

• “Hosts”-receiving communities

• Non-local networks, interests: markets and politics

• Beneficiaries (local and non-local)

Displacement and Loss

• Displacement as crisis

• Displacement losses:

• environmental-resources, ecosystem services

• economic-livelihoods, markets, jobs

• social-networks, kin, clientele

• political- power, host-guest conflict

• cultural-place, identity, spirituality

• Loss of an “Environment of Trust”

• Grieving for a lost home-loss of cultural resources that aid in the grieving process.

Impoverishment Risks and

Reconstruction Model

• Vulnerability and Risk approach

• 8 Basic risks of displacement and resettlement

• Landlessness food insecurity

• Joblessness increased morbidity

• Homelessness loss of access to common

• Marginalization property resources

• Social Disarticulation

(Cernea 1997)

And After Dam Forced

Displacement?

• The great unanswered (almost unasked)

question.

• Assimilation with co-ethnics

• Urbanization

• Resettlement

The Four Stage Model • Multidimensional Stress-3 forms of stress associated

with 4 stages

• Planning before physical removal

• Coping with drop in living standards that follows

displacement

• Initiating economic development and community

formation activities to improve living standards

• Handing over settlement to the 2nd generation and non

project authority institutions. (Scudder and Colson 1982;

Scudder 2009)

Three Forms of Stress from Resettlement

• Physiological stress is seen in increased morbidity

and mortality rates. “Dying of a broken heart”

with prevalence among the elderly.

• Psychological stress, seen as directly proportional

to the abruptness of the relocation, has four

manifestations: trauma, guilt, grief and anxiety

• Sociocultural stress is manifested as a result of the

economic, political, and cultural effects of

relocation. (Scudder and Colson 1982)

Crucial Factors in Success or Failure of

Resettlement Projects

• Poor choice of site for resettlement

• Design or layout of the settlement

• Housing design, materials and construction

• Little or no consultation with the affected

population

• Lack of strategies and means for sustainable

livelihoods. (Oliver-Smith 1991;

McDowell 2002; Correa 2012a, 2012b)

From Displacement to Emplacement: Psycho-Socio-

Cultural (PSC) Stress, Impoverishment and

Recovery

Displacement: Loss of place constitutes a disruption of

“social geometry:” the socially constructed spatio-

temporal order that anchors “routine culture” and

identity.

Reconstituting “social geometry” is about the struggle

to make a new place in the world; of recreating a sense

of place, i.e. making a home materially and

symbolically, i.e. Emplacement

Psycho-Socio-Cultural (PSC)

Recovery

• PSC recovery impeded by adherence to 5 fallacies.

• 1. compensation is enough

• 2. strict compliance to policy

• 3. blame the victim

• 4. the clock stops with construction

• 5. project (planners, financiers, government) not responsible or liable for PSC changes (Downing and Garcia-Downing 2009)

PSC Recovery

• Pre-displacement culture will not be restored.

• Recovery still possible, but must be measured by different (non-economic) criteria.

• 3 questions: Who are we? Where are we? And How do we relate to one another?

(Downing and Garcia-Downing 2009).

Displacement and Resettlement

as a Complex System • “Inadequate Inputs” approach-failure due to lack

of appropriate inputs, legal frameworks, policies, political will, funding, research, etc.

• Inherent Complexity approach-interrelatedness of a range of factors taking place in context of imposed spatial change and local level responses-influence of internal decisions and external power, and mutual transformation. Process not predictable, or amenable to standard linear planning. requires open-ended, participatory approach to planning (De Wet 2006).

Responsible Agencies

• Relatively few nations have either the necessary legislation or the administrative structure and capacity to adequately address the task of resettling displaced populations.

• Generally speaking, an amalgam of public agencies, with jurisdiction over a wide spectrum of environmental, social, and economic domains, is created to plan resettlement, often producing projects that demonstrate their conflicting and often contradictory agendas.

Basic Ground Rules

DFDR is always a last resort

Adequate Financing

Advance Planning

Land tenure and livelihoods

Community involvement

Safeguard Policies: Monitoring and Compliance

Adequate staffing and training

National legal frameworks (de Sherbinin et al

2010)

The Near Future

• Resurgence in dam building as key to energy generation and development;

• Dams now being presented as a form of mitigation for climate change, increasing potential for large scale population displacements and resettlement.

• Urgent need to improve resettlement legal frameworks, financing, planning, and implementation with full participation of affected peoples in all stages.

• Need for better baseline data and improved training of resettlement professionals