The restoration of livelihoods in the event of involuntary resettlement is commonly based on providing compensation to those who are displaced. The outcomes of these resettlements have been well documented around the world and provide a serial of recurring horror stories. For this reason, it is proposed that a new foundation for conducting involuntary resettlement is needed. Academics profess that by conducting resettlement as a development project in its own right, the performance of resettlements can be improved and the benefits will accrue to the local population. This concept is called Resettlement with Development (RwD). To this end, China was the first country to include RwD in its National policies on involuntary resettlement. However, it was not until the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River that the policy was translated into practice. / This research is an attempt to determine whether RwD is a suitable model for livelihood restoration and improvement. In exploring the primary research aim, a year was spent in the resettlement region of the Three Gorges Dam, visiting resettlers and undertaking questionnaires, interviews and policy analysis. Two counties in Hubei province were chosen for comparison - Badong county and Zigui county. The application of RwD in these two locales was variable, with an uneven level of development intervention. The investment environment and county policy of Zigui attracted a greater degree of investment and related development than that of Badong. The capacity of these development initiatives to generate sustainable livelihood outcomes for the resettlers was central to this research. / Through questionnaires, interviews and policy analysis, this research finds that although the RwD methods are applied more intensely in Zigui they do not necessarily translate into better outcomes for the resettlers at this locale. The data suggests that: (i) there is no difference in the degree of relative poverty in Zigui and Badong; (ii) Zigui is experiencing more relative poverty than Badong; (iii) there is no difference in vulnerability and resilience; (iv) the natural resource base is comparable in both counties; and (v) Badong and Zigui are both at risk of food insecurity. However, whilst the majority of households in all sites at Badong are experiencing declining incomes, there is no significant decline in incomes at Zigui. Although employment levels have declined at both Badong and Zigui, the decline is not so severe at Zigui. Finally, infrastructure in Zigui has improved in comparison to Badong after resettlement. Hence, although the RwD initiatives have not dramatically improved the situation for resettlers in Zigui, they have lessened the impoverishment effects that are synonymous with involuntary resettlement. Moreover, further analysis suggests that the outcomes seen in the TGP resettlement are not a consequence of the inadequacy of the RwD model. Instead, the RwD model is found to be only partially applied in the TGRA. Future attempts at RwD must endeavour to apply the RwD model more completely.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/245163 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | McDonald, Brooke Daley |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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