Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement: Causes, Consequences, and Socio-Legal Context

Displacement is primarily a socio-economic issue associated with loss or significant reduction of access to basic resources, on which communities depend. Physical abandonment of the existing residence is therefore secondary to the loss of access to material resources such as land, pastures, forests and clean water as well as intangible resources such as socio-economic ties. Analysis of displacement caused by development projects requires, at the outset, a clear theoretical framework. This is because the term "displacement" can be understood in two different ways. It may be used to refer to eviction of people from their habitual homeland without adequate compensation, guarantees or mechanisms of social support, or to the initial phase of a process of resettlement (associated with physical relocation of people from their homes). Displacement may therefore be a distinct, negative phenomenon related to violation of fundamental human rights, or the initial step in the resettlement process. The term "resettlement" therefore refers to physical, pre-planned relocation, combined with appropriate support mechanisms, including social support, in the new location. According to Robert Chambers, "resettlement is characterized by two main features: A movement of population; and an element of planning and control"[11]. In other publications, resettlement is defined as "the process by which individuals or a group of people leave spontaneously or unspontaneously their original settlement sites to resettle in new areas where they can begin new trends of life by adapting themselves to the biophysical, social and administrative systems of the new environment"[12]. According to the Encyclopedia of World Environmental History, resettlement may be defined as "the process through which populations displaced from their habitat and/or economic activities relocated to another site and reestablish their productive activities, services, and community life"[13]. This definition strongly emphasizes that resettlement is a combination of physical relocation (displacement) with subsequent attempts to restore the displaced people's livelihood in the new place. According to Mama (2003) "resettlement is a process, usually under the assistance of the state, private sector or other development organization, of moving people from their area of residence to another considered to offer alternative conditions"[14]. This definition, originally prepared for the analysis of the IDPs situation in Sierra Leone, strongly emphasizes three common elements of resettlement caused by development projects: its prosesual and multi-stage character, coordinated nature of resettlement, and physical relocation of people between their former and new settlements.

Extremely important for the understanding of this issue, therefore, is the analysis of standards of displacement and mechanisms of further support and assistance for displaced and resettled people. Involuntary resettlement associated with economic development is a phenomenon seen in all continents. Only in some of them, however, does it take on the character of a significant social problem, leading to violations of human rights and significant reduction in the level of individual and community security. Therefore, global variation affects the difference in standards of implementation. The key factor in the strong global differentiation among cases of DIDR is the difference in standards of resettlement, which determine the subsequent economic and social situation of the people.

In countries with democratic forms of government, proper protection of citizens' property rights, and extended participation of citizens as political actors, resettlement caused by development is not a visible social problem. The most negative consequences of economic development are observed in authoritarian countries featuring great social inequality and a large group of people who are almost totally excluded from the economy. A highly developed country characterized by a democratic form of government, free public opinion, and extended participation of people in the public sphere, cannot afford to implement socially costly development projects which would lead to mass displacement. Much resistance observed worldwide is a direct consequence of exclusion from planning, decision-making and monitoring of involuntary resettlement. Let us also note that in almost all developed democratic countries the cause of population displacement may lie only in development projects for public purposes. However, even in western Europe, we can find examples of projects that have led to large-scale resettlement. For instance, it is estimated that during the twentieth century lignite mining in Germany led to the displacement of between 30,000 and 100,000 people. Much greater problems are observed in developing countries or those implementing an intensive model of economic development, detached from the principles of sustainable development.

The largest scale of development-induced displacement and resettlement is seen in the world's most densely populated countries: China and India. According to the Chinese National Research Center for Resettlement, over 45 million people have been displaced in this country following development projects carried out between 1950 and 2000, 52 percent of this number owing to urban development projects[15]. Recent research has pointed out that 70 million people were displaced in China by development projects between 1950 and 2008[16]. According to W. Courtland Robinson, development projects in China during the nineties displaced approximately 10.3 million people[17]. In 1989 the Chinese government admitted that over 7 million development-induced IDPs in that country lived in extreme poverty[18]. According to the World Commission on Dams, construction of dams was the sole cause of 34% of DIDR in China between 1950 and 1990[19]. This problem, on an equally large scale, has been observed in twentieth-century India. Vijaya Paranjpye (1988) estimated that construction of dams had forced the involuntary resettlement of at least 21.6 million people up to that date[20]. According to Taneja and Thakkar (2000), the construction of dams alone displaced between 21 and 40 million people in India. As noted by Mahapatra, development might have displaced 25 million people in India during the second part of the twentieth century (from 1947 to 1997)[21]. These figures seem to have been grossly underestimated. According to Nalin Singh Negi and Sujata Ganguly (2011), over 50 million people in India have been displaced over the last 50 years, which is a more accurate statistic if we take project affected people (PAPs) into account. Dr Walter Fernandes of the North Eastern Social Research Centre in Guwahati (NESRC) has estimated at 60 million the total number of people displaced and affected by development projects in India. An Indian government statement of 1994 gives the number of over 10 million development-induced displaced people in the country who are still "awaiting rehabilitation".

The magnitude of displacement following development projects is also highly visible in other Asian countries as well as in Africa and Latin America. Bangladesh is an example of an Asian country strongly affected by this problem. The creation of Kaptai dam, completed in 1962, has resulted in the involuntary resettlement of over 60,000 Chakma and Hajong tribals. Bangladesh is also struggling with huge numbers of people who have been forced to encroach on public land. Involuntary resettlement caused by creation of dams is a highly visible problem in Vietnam, Turkey and Nepal as well. In Africa, the construction of dams was a response to political changes caused by decolonization and the growing energy needs of sovereign states. Among the well-known examples of dam construction implemented in Africa during the fifties and sixties, we can mention the construction of Akosobmo Dam in Ghana (opened in 1965), Aswan High Dam in Egypt (opened in 1970) and Kariba Dam on the Zambezi river on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe (opened in 1959). All these projects drew the attention of applied anthropologists who conducted research on involuntary resettlement caused by their construction and the social consequences of these projects. Also, in recent years we have observed a growing number of dam projects in Africa, often using Chinese capital. Among the largest projects carried out in Africa in recent years, we can mention the Gibe III Dam in Ethiopia, the Merowe Dam in Sudan, and the Lesotho Highland Water Project. A further major cause of displacement in Africa is the exploitation and transportation of raw materials and the creation or expansion of conservation areas. In Latin America an especially noticeable cause of displacement turns out to be the construction of dams. Let us mention here the construction of Yacyretá Dam on the border of Argentina and Paraguay (68,000 displaced people) and the Itaipu Dam on the border of Brazil and Paraguay (59,000 displaced people). It is estimated that construction of the Sobradinho Dam in Brazil, opened in 1979, resulted in the displacement of 60,000 people. Approximately 50,000 people were displaced following construction of the Itaparica Dam in Brazil (opened in 1988, also known as the Luiz Gonzaga Dam)[22].

The causes of development-induced displacement are extensively discussed in the literature. Most publications list eight main causes of development-caused displacement. These include the following:

1. Construction of dams, hydropower plants, irrigation projects, artificial reservoirs and canals. Dam building is the greatest cause of development-induced displacement worldwide. According to a report of the World Commission on Dams "the construction of large dams has led to the displacement of some 40 to 80 million people worldwide"[23]. According to the Bankwide Review of Projects Involving Involuntary Resettlement, dam building was the direct cause of 26.6 % World Bank-financed projects (active in 1993) involving involuntary resettlement[24]. Thus the construction of dams tends to cause development-caused displacement on the largest scale across the world. Irreversible flooding of vast areas and the need for resettlement of entire communities in remote areas has a much greater social impact than many other causes of displacement. Construction of roads and urban development do not involve the complete transformation of the previously inhabited areas, so that displaced people can live in the immediate vicinity of their previous residence and are better able to maintain their customary economic model, existing social ties and cultural traditions. In the case of people forcibly resettled due to construction of dams, restoring livelihood and adapting to areas far from the previous place of residence is a much more difficult and long-term process. It is worth highlighting that the perception of DIDR by international institutions and scientific communities is based on the consequences of dam building.

2. Development of transportation. Construction of roads, highways and rail transportation is currently, along with construction of dams, one of the causes of development-induced displacement on the largest scale. According to the Bankwide Review of Projects Involving Involuntary Resettlement, transportation is the direct cause of 24.6 % of all development-induced displacement in World Bank-financed projects active in 1993. This problem to a greater or lesser extent affects most countries in the world. The Jabotabek urban development project in Indonesia, which involves widening of roads in Jakarta, displaced between 40,000 and 50,000 people. The project was completed in 1990[25]. Also in Pakistan we are observing a growing scale of displacement associated with the construction of roads and highways. The Lyari Expressway project in Karachi resulted in resettlement of 24,400 families and social problems associated with inadequate compensation and the lack of mechanisms of social support. Displacement caused by development of transportation is extremely difficult to avoid even in developed countries. The ongoing highway construction project in Boston (Central Artery/Tunnel Project, the so-called Big Dig) may be associated with the displacement of several thousand people. In contrast to the construction of dams, development of roads has much slighter social consequences.

3. Urbanization, reurbanization and transformation of urban space. According to the WBED report, over 60 percent of development-induced displacement worldwide resulted form development of urbanization and transportation projects. According to the Bankwide Review of Projects Involving Involuntary Resettlement, development of urban infrastructure is the cause of 8,2 % of resettlement worldwide. Michael M. Cernea paper The Urban Environment and Population Relocation (1993) provides a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of urban resettlements in developing states. Among the most important categories of urbanization (and re-urbanization) processes causing involuntary resettlement we should mention: 1. expansion of urban areas, 2. rebuilding of the cities with the devastation of war and the transformation of existing districts and neighborhoods, 3. water supply projects, 4. development of urban transport, especially underground, 5. demolition of poverty districts such as slums and favelas in Latin American countries and India, 6. population redistribution schemes implemented in densely populated urban space. Development projects implemented in highly populated Asian cities leading to particularly high scale of involuntary resettlement. The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) commenced in 2002 to improve public transport led to the resettlement of approximately 100,000 people. According to the World Bank "The MUTP is the first attempt in India to resettle a very large number of urban dwellers displaced while improving urban infrastructure. The resettlement process itself has been an unprecedented, pioneering exercise in improving the lives of the urban poor. So far, some 18,500 families—including thousands of squatter families living in shacks along railway tracks—have been relocated to safe permanent dwellings and given legal title to their new housing"[26] Water supply projects are another important cause of large scale relocations within urban space. We can mention here water supply projects implemented in recent years in Nairobi (10,000 resettled people), Dhaka (40,000 resettled people) and particularly well analysed in literature Hyderabad Water Supply Project (50,000 resettled people). Urban resettlement are nowadays increasing category of DIDR. As pointed out by Professor Michael M. Cernea, the single displacement caused by urbanization processes affects fewer people than the construction of dams. Displacements associated with urbanization are more numerous than those associated with the creation of dams. However, due to the high population density in urban areas, the number of people displaced per unit of area by projects of this kind is larger than the proportion displaced by a single dam.

4. Mining and transportation of resources. Attempts to obtain control of exploitation areas and further extraction and transportation of resources have become a growing cause of internal displacement. According to some estimations, over 60 percent of the world's natural resources are located on indigenous lands. The desire to obtain particularly valuable resources is becoming an important factor in many local conflicts. The internal violence caused by conflicts over resources can, therefore, affect the dynamics of conflict-induced displacement to a considerable extent. Large-scale displacement of people is also a consequence of the expansion of mining areas. Especially large-scale displacement is associated with the expansion of open-pit mining areas. It is estimated that the development of a gold mine in the region of Tarkwa in Ghana has so far led to the displacement of between 20,000 and 30,000 local residents[27]. According to Walter Fernandes, expansion of mining in India led to the involuntary resettlement of over 2.55 million people between 1950 and 1990 (particularly in the Jharkhand region). It is estimated that development of the Freeport gold mine on the Indonesian part of Papua Island might have caused the displacement of over 15,000 people. Other countries characterized by large-scale resettlement associated with the development of open-pit mining include China, Bangladesh, Mali, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Guyana, Argentina—and even Germany. However, population displacement associated with exploitation and transportation of resources is not limited to the consequences of expansion of open-cast mining areas. Extraction of crude oil does not in itself lead to a significant scale of displacement; in this case factors in the dynamics of displacement are conflicts over control of the areas of extraction and transportation. To obtain profits from oil exploitation requires strong control over these areas.

Already observed struggles to obtain control over oil fields can lead to a significant scale of displacement. Fear of sabotage or organized theft from pipelines often leads the authorities to carry out preventive displacement of local populations from the areas around the pipeline course. The best-known example of so-called oil-induced displacement is the forced relocation of people in South Sudan associated with the creation of the 1500 km-long pipeline Block 5A. It is estimated that in the aftermath of the pipeline project, affecting the area from South Sudan to Port Sudan, more than 160,000 people were displaced. According to the HWR, as of March 2002, the total number of people internally displaced from the oil areas of the Lakes (a section of Bahr El Ghazel) and Upper Nile region stood at 174,200. Population displacement related to the extraction and transportation of crude oil differs significantly from that associated with expansion of mining areas. Terms such as "oil-induced displacement" or "oil development-induced displacement" are increasingly evident in the scientific literature[28]. This problem is often considered a source of so-called petroviolence, seen in many African and Latin American countries[29]. Displacement or forced migration is also a consequence of land, air and water pollution caused by the exploitation of crude oil or open-cast mining. As we can see, the problem of so-called mining-induced displacement and resettlement (MIDR) has an extremely developed and diverse character, making it difficult to limit it to physical population displacement from mining areas. In analyzing this problem we must take a much broader view, taking into account such specific problems as displacement associated with fear for the safety of pipelines, etc.

5. Deforestation and expansion of agricultural areas. Felling of trees is often the first step in the transformation of land into agricultural areas. Especially serious environmental and social problems are caused by the creation of large monoculture plantations, such as palm oil plantations on Borneo Island. Population displacement related to the establishment of large monoculture plantations has also been observed in other regions of the world. Between 1998 and 2005 the surface occupied by palm oil plantations in Colombia has almost doubled (increasing from 145,027 to 275,317 hectares), leading to population displacement on a significant scale.

6. Creation of national parks and reserves, (conservation of nature). As pointed out by Marc Dowie, after 1900 more than 108,000 conservation areas, such as national parks and reserves, were created worldwide. The creation of many national parks was associated with involuntary population resettlement. The problem of so-called conservation refugees, which are people, usually indigenous, who are displaced from their native homeland territories following creation of conservation areas such as national parks is extensively discussed in the literature. The problem of conservation-induced displacement is particularly apparent in African countries and India. According to Charles Geisler, a sociologist from Cornell University, in Africa alone efforts for the conservation of nature may lead to several forms of involuntary relocations of between 900,000 and 14,4 millions people. The creation of the Serengeti National Park were associated with displacement of 50,000 Maasai people. The number of indigenous people displaced following creation of the Kibale National Park in Uganda is estimated at 35000. Over 10,000 were displaced as a result of the establishment of the Cross River National Park in Nigeria. Indian authorities have given the number of 1.6 million tribal people displaced in the aftermath of nature conservation projects in this country; it is probably an underestimate[30]. Involuntary relocations caused by the conservation of nature have enormous social consequences. Indigenous peoples who for many generations were organically linked with their land are suddenly displaced and forced to change their land-based economic model and social ties significantly. The relocation very often entails loss of access to common property such as pastures, shared agricultural land, rivers and forests. The result of displacement is not only deterioration in the economic situation but also a huge cultural upheaval. Actions to conserve nature should be accompanied by efforts to maintain existing social ties and sustainable coexistence between man and nature. Unfortunately, the creation of national parks in many regions of the globe is only an excuse for invasive activities such as deforestation or attempts to obtain particularly valuable resources.

7. Population redistribution schemes. One of the most brutal examples of forced population relocation from cities to rural areas was begun by the Khmer Rouge in April 1975, with the relocation of Cambodian people from the capital of the country, Phnom Penh, and other cities into the countryside. It is estimated that the Khmer Rouge regime displaced more than 4 million people from cities into rural areas. Also in neighbouring Vietnam in April 1985, the victory of the socialist regime resulted in reunification of the North and South regions of the country, and with it the creation of so-called New Economic Zones (NEZs) under the "Return to Village" plan. Although the "return to village" was officially voluntary, examples of compulsory or even forced migrations from cities to villages were often observed. Other examples of population redistribution schemes can be found in the programmes of villagization carried out in many African countries, especially Tanzania and Ethiopia. We may regard population redistribution schemes as a specific form of development-induced displacement which is strongly influenced by political factors. Relocation into the less economically favorable areas may became a form of punishment of ethnic minorities or other dissident communities. In some countries we can observe the reverse situation, as in North Korea, where living in the capital, Pyongyang, may be a reward for those citizens who are most trusted economically and politically.

8. Other causes. Among these we can include the creation of specific entities within a large surface area, such as airports, ports and landfill sites. An increasing problem, seen for example in Ghana, is population relocation caused by the establishment of large landfills. Increasingly stringent rules concerning waste management contribute to refuse accumulation and waste in less developed countries. The growth of such dumps in less developed countries may lead not only to the displacement associated with their formation but also to migration away from the subsequently deteriorating environmental conditions.

As we can see, the catalogue of causes of development-induced displacement is characterized by strong diversification and is much influenced by other categories of involuntary migration and displacement. Due to its irreversible nature, implementation of development projects leads to serious social consequences. Poorly implemented resettlement plans, unaccompanied by adequate compensation for lost assets and mechanisms of social support, lead to long-term or even irreversible deterioration in the conditions of large communities. Those responsible for the planning, preparation, and implementation of resettlement, and for the further adaptation of resettled people, therefore carry heavy individual responsibility for their decisions. Despite its clearly humanitarian context, development-induced displacement is still a marginalized and underrated problem in the area of human rights and humanitarian protection and assistance for vulnerable groups. The activity of the UNHCR in the area of IDPs protection and assistance is focused on the situation of people forced to leave their homes by internal violence and natural disasters. Efforts on behalf of people displaced by the consequences of slow-onset environmental processes or development projects have played a totally marginal role in the activities of this agency, probably because these categories of population displacement are characterized by a lower degree of human rights violation and fewer humanitarian risks affecting the displaced.