The long-term impacts of resettlement programmes resulting from dam construction projects in Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Sri Lanka and Turkey: a comparison of land-for-land and cash compensation schemes

Abstract

Post-project household surveys were conducted regarding 10 resettlement programmes resulting from dam construction projects in Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Sri Lanka and Turkey. In all cases the resettlement was completed at least 20 years ago, except for one case in Laos. Six of the programmes adopted a cash compensation scheme and the other four were based on a land-for-land compensation scheme. While the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development prefer land-for-land compensation, there was no significant difference observed concerning the effectiveness of the two compensation schemes. Cash compensation demonstrated a small advantage for farmers who wanted to change their occupation; for those who hope to move into an urban area to secure a better livelihood, cash compensation could be a better option.

Keywords:

• resettlement
• cash compensation
• land-for-land compensation
• dam construction
• Asia

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Mitsui & Co., Ltd, Environment Fund, the Foundation of River & Watershed Environment Management and KAKENHI (18310033 and 24310189).