Challenging the risks-based model of involuntary resettlement using evidence from the Bui Dam, Ghana

Wilmsen, Brooke; Adjartey, David; Hulten, Andrew van

doi:10.1080/07900627.2018.1471390

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…As demonstrated, the precarity of those resettled for the Bui Dam was preexisting, but the construction of the Bui Dam imposed further injury that broke down social and economic networks (Butler, 2009). At the Bui resettlement, the breakdown of political and social relationships, including traditional power structures and marital relationships, was one of the key themes discussed by the participants (see Wilmsen, Adjartey and van Hulten, 2019 for further discussion). Briefly, the deprivation and uncertainty of life in the resettlement villages led to social fragmentation as women sought security from those with greater resources.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The managerial literature has made important contributions to improving resettlement policy and practice (Vandergeest et al, 2007; Cernea 2009, 2016). Of particular note is Michael Cernea's (1997) work detailing the impoverishment risks of involuntary resettlement, which has influenced the content of both the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation's involuntary resettlement policies and guidelines (Dwivedi, 2002; Vanclay, 2017; Wilmsen, Adjartey, & van Hulten, 2019).…”

Section: Revisiting the Resettlement Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Precarious resettlement at the Bui Dam, Ghana—Unmaking the teleological

Wilmsen

Adjartey

2020

Geographical Research

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One of the key challenges of constructing large‐scale water projects is determining how to manage social impacts such as the forced displacement and resettlement of the people in their path. Resettlement planners are tasked with the unenviable job of predicting these impacts and minimising their effects to enable the smooth completion of construction. The complexity of resettlement is reduced to a technical exercise carried out in accordance with international standards of best practice used by multilateral development banks and with the laws of national governments. Despite both the proliferation of these standards and legislation and the expansion of the resettlement industry, empirical research continues to demonstrate that resettlement causes impoverishment. Based on a qualitative study of three resettled villages at the Bui Dam resettlement in Ghana, this article highlights the political nature of resettlement. Using the concept of “precarity” we demonstrate how politics acts to render people moveable long before a project is conceived. Resettlement is shown to be a political tool that exposes and exacerbates existing precarity and becomes a site of struggle against the power of the state. By framing resettlement as an expression of politics rather than an exercise in management and containment, this article begins to uncover the flaws in technical planning processes and is a reminder that resettlement should be avoided wherever possible.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Revisiting the Resettlement Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Precarious resettlement at the Bui Dam, Ghana—Unmaking the teleological

Wilmsen

Adjartey

2020

Geographical Research

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“…The IRR is the most cited in the displacement literature. Some scholars consider it as the central framework for the formulation and iteration of the World Bank's resettlement policies, with unparalleled influence on resettlement planning (Wilmsen, 2018;Oliver-Smith, 2010;Koenig, 2006).…”

Section: Planning and Inherent Complexity In Development Induced Dispmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Across the literature, scholars have engaged different elements of the IRR, although much of these works is focused on public-sector led dam projects, not on the specific context of mining and resettlement (see, for example, Wilmsen et al 2018;Gizachew, 2017;Wilmsen, 2016;Mahapatra, 1999;Mathur, 1998). 28 Through these scholarly engagements, critiques and clarifications have been offered on the IRR, although the model itself remains unadjusted (Adam et al, 2015).…”

Section: Irr Model: a Diagnostic For Project Induced Displacement Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the context of mining, Cochrane (2017) notes that the neglect of project potential to transform local communities sometimes leads proponents towards preserving (or restoring) the status quo, rather than investing in transformational programs. Wilmsen et al (2018;p.10) argues that the IRR is simplistic and produces "systematic blind spots" with regard to important social, political and economic configurations of resettlement that may get neglected in practice. Proceeding, they call attention to the many complex power and social relations as they shape and impact displacement events.…”

Section: Irr Model: a Diagnostic For Project Induced Displacement Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conceptualizing household livelihood needs in mining-induced displacement and resettlement: a case study from Ghana

Adam¹

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Development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) is a significant socioeconomic problem. Recent estimates suggest that approximately 20 million people are displaced every year to make way for the construction and operation of large-scale development projects, such as dams and mining. More than forty years of scholarship show that people displaced by these projects often experience worse levels of poverty and, in the majority of cases, struggle to recover from this impoverishment. International finance institutions have attempted to address project-induced impoverishment by putting forward resettlement policy frameworks and guidelines. These policy measures have been complemented by scholarly models for planning and implementing resettlement that aim to prevent impoverishment. However, despite numerous policies, impoverishment remains a predominant outcome in most displacement settings. This thesis focuses on mining-induced displacement and resettlement (MIDR). It engages scholarly works and literature on displacement and sustainable livelihoods and argues that continuing widespread impoverishment-in the face of 'improved' resettlement policy and practiceis a result of inadequate engagement with the human scale dimensions of household livelihood development. The thesis is based on an ethnographic case study from Ghana and examines a resettlement exercise as it occurred at the Akyem gold mine project. Based on constructivist perspectives, it uses a combined conceptual lens from the Sustainable Livelihoods Frameworks, Sen's (1999) Capabilities Approach, and concepts from industrial sociology to examine the human scale issues in MIDR. These issues are examined at three levels: household, policy platforms and institutional practices. Habermas' (1984) idea of "communicative action" is also deployed to conceptualise potential areas of intersection across these levels. Primary data is analyzed from interviews with a sample of 82 participants and informants, comprising twenty-five (25) randomly selected household participants and fifty-seven (57) key informants. Documents are analysed as primary sources for understanding the legal and regulatory instruments, policies and guidelines pertaining to MIDR within Ghana and the international context. At the household level, the findings from the research confirmed the established pattern of impoverishment and vulnerability resulting from MIDR. The pressures of being dispossessed, combined with the rapid transformations associated with industrial scale mining, were prominent and directly explained the impoverishment process facing the households. Attempts

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An applied framework for assessing the relative deprivation of dam‐affected communities

Zhang

Owen

Kemp

et al. 2021

Sustainable Development

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Over the past half century, hydropower dams have displaced 40-80 million people around the world. In the development literature, the outcome of these shocks is represented in the form of "absolute deprivation." The policy norms surrounding development-induced displacement and resettlement, across all industries, prioritize compensation as the primary means through which to address any short-term deprivation caused by the shock of displacement. One dimension that has been overlooked is the force and effect of "relative deprivation (RD)." To demonstrate the merits of the RD approach, we develop a novel framework to assess the poverty conditions of affected communities across different resettlement schemes in Qinghai Province, China. A review of the case literature shows the scope and depth of deprivations experienced by those directly impacted by project-induced displacement.

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Challenging the risks-based model of involuntary resettlement using evidence from the Bui Dam, Ghana

Cited by 22 publications

References 33 publications

Precarious resettlement at the Bui Dam, Ghana—Unmaking the teleological

Precarious resettlement at the Bui Dam, Ghana—Unmaking the teleological

Conceptualizing household livelihood needs in mining-induced displacement and resettlement: a case study from Ghana

An applied framework for assessing the relative deprivation of dam‐affected communities

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