Human Rights Discourse On Dams Displacement And Resettlement

Since the 1990s, development-induced displacement has emerged as a major human rights concern. At the heart of this debate lie the issues of equity, governance, justice and power. There are many examples of dam-induced displacement and resettlement being mismanaged and thus leading to enormous social and environmental costs. The developing impasse necessitated fresh insights into the lives of affected people, and a review of assumptions, questions and options in social engineering, a challenge that was taken up in sociological and anthropological research. This book is an endeavour to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive outlook on the human rights issues involved in development induced displacement. This book is a sincere effort to provide a critical analysis of the environmental, social and economic impacts of development projects. It further calls for a serious deliberation on the human rights aspects of development induced displacement.

Since the 1990s, development-induced displacement has emerged as a major human rights concern. At the heart of this debate lie the issues of equity, governance, justice and power. There are many examples of dam-induced displacement and resettlement being mismanaged and thus leading to enormous social and environmental costs. The developing impasse necessitated fresh insights into the lives of affected people, and a review of assumptions, questions and options in social engineering, a challenge that was taken up in sociological and anthropological research. This book is an endeavour to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive outlook on the human rights issues involved in development induced displacement. This book is a sincere effort to provide a critical analysis of the environmental, social and economic impacts of development projects. It further calls for a serious deliberation on the human rights aspects of development induced displacement.

Some ten million people worldwide are displaced or resettled every year, due to development projects, such as the construction of dams, irrigation schemes, urban development, transport, conservation or mining projects. The results have usually been very negative for most of those people who have to move, as well as for other people in the area, such as host populations. People are often left socially and institutionally disrupted and economically worse-off, with the environment also suffering as a result of the introduction of infrastructure and increased crowding in the areas to which people had to move. The contributors to this volume argue that there is a complexity, and a tension, inherent in trying to reconcile enforced displacement of people with the subsequent creation of a socio-economically viable and sustainable environment. Only when these are squarely confronted, will it be possible to adequately deal with the problems and to improve resettlement policies.

This book explores the issue of development-induced resettlement, with a particular emphasis on the humanitarian, legal, and social aspects of this problem. Today, so-called 'development-induced displacement and resettlement' (DIDR) is one of the dominant causes of internal spatial mobility worldwide. Each year over 15 million people are forced to abandon their homes to make space for economic development infrastructure. The construction of dams and irrigation projects, the expansion of communication networks, urbanization and re-urbanization, the extraction and transportation of mineral resources, forced evictions in urban areas, and population redistribution schemes count among the many possible causes.Terminski aims to present the issue of development-caused displacement as a highly diverse, global social problem occurring in all regions of the world. As a human rights issue it poses a challenge to public international law and to institutions providing humanitarian assistance. A significant part of this book is devoted to the current dynamics of development-caused resettlement in Europe, which has been neglected in the academic literature so far.

This original and insightful book explores and examines the impact that building mega-dams has on the human rights of those living in surrounding areas, and in particular those of indigenous peoples who are often most affected. Compiling case studies from around the world, Itzchak Kornfeld provides clear examples of how human rights violations are perpetrated and compounded, with chapters examining historical, recent and ongoing dam projects.

Development-caused forced displacement and resettlement (DFDR) is a critical problem on the international development agenda. The frequency of forced displacements is rapidly increasing, the sheer numbers of uprooted and impoverished people reveal fast accelerating trends, whilst government reporting remains poor and misleading. Challenging the Prevailing Paradigm of Displacement and Resettlement analyzes widespread impoverishment outcomes, ​risks to human rights, and other adverse impacts of displacement; it documents under-compensation of expropriated people, critiques cost externalization on resettlers, and points a laser light on the absence of protective, robust, and binding legal frameworks in the overwhelming majority of developing countries. In response, this book proposes constructive solutions to improve quality and measure the outcomes of forced resettlement, prevent the mass-manufacturing of new poverty, promote social justice, and respect human rights. It also advocates for the reparation of bad legacies left behind by failed resettlement. It brings together​ prominent scholars and practitioners from several countries who argue that states, development agencies, and private sector corporations which trigger displacements must adopt a "resettlement with development" paradigm. Towards this end, the book’s co-authors translate cutting edge research into legal, economic, financial, policy, and pragmatic operational recommendations. An inspiring and compelling guide to the field, Challenging the Prevailing Paradigm of Displacement and Resettlement will be of interest to university faculty, government officials, private corporations, researchers, ​and students in anthropology,​ economics,​ sociology, law, political science, human geography, and international development.

The uprooting and displacement of people has long been among the hardships associated with development and modernity. Indeed, the circulation of commodities, currency, and labor in modern society necessitates both social and spatial mobility. However, the displacement and resettlement of millions of people each year by large-scale infrastructural projects raises serious questions about the democratic character of the development process. Although designed to spur economic growth, many of these projects leave local people struggling against serious impoverishment and gross violations of human rights. Working from a political-ecological perspective, Anthony Oliver-Smith offers the first book to document the fight against involuntary displacement and resettlement being waged by people and communities around the world. Increasingly over the last twenty-five years, the voices of people at the grass roots are being heard. People from many societies and cultures are taking action against development-forced displacement and resettlement (DFDR) and articulating alternatives. Taking the promise of democracy seriously, they are fighting not only for their place in the world, but also for their place at the negotiating table, where decisions affecting their well-being are made.

A collection of oral histories that reveal the loss of cultural continuity, identity, shifts in family responsibilities, gender roles and fractured relationships between generations that are just some of the challenges people face as they attempt to rebuild lives and communities.