Looking back on development and disaster‐related displacement and resettlement, anticipating climate‐related displacement in the Asia Pacific region

Abstract

The realisation that climate change might necessitate resettlement of people displaced initially raised interest in the experience of development-forced displacement and resettlement (DFDR). Looking back, in 1980 the first international policy on involuntary resettlement was approved to address perceived weaknesses in state property and expropriation law to safeguard people in the way of development projects. Since then international policy and praxis have brought global attention to developmentally displaced people but have not guaranteed them an effective safeguard. Recently, renewed attention has focussed on state legal and governance frameworks substantively and procedurally. Identifying four key policy objectives that resonate with climate change displacement I analyse their treatment in a data base of DFDR laws and regulations from 40 Asia Pacific states. This analysis finds overall little legal congruence. Innovative new formulations in some Asian state laws address recent public criticisms and research findings, but mostly are yet to demonstrate positive outcomes for displaced people. Pacific states increasingly abandon expropriation law to negotiate lease terms for public infrastructure projects with customary landowners that do not extinguish customary title. Any laws governing climate change relocations must protect rights, livelihoods, well-being, inclusive decision-making and community initiatives with procedures whilst not relinquishing climate-change-reducing action.

The domestic politics of climate change in the Pacific Islands

“…At the national level, the current and future impacts of climate change raise important questions for policy‐makers in terms of legal status, sovereignty, citizenship, land rights, governance and self‐determination (McAdam, 2016; Farbotko and McMichael, 2019; Price, 2019). In some parts of the Pacific Islands, the idea of citizenship has been nebulous, reflecting the fragility of the territorial state and the dominance of localised identities and affinities.…”

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

“…However, the pursuit of deterministic models and better methods of resettlement has unwittingly driven a turn in the resettlement discourse and legitimised the expansion of the resettlement industry. Empirical evidence shows that resettlement mostly makes people worse off (Mathur, 2006; Reddy et al, 2015; Vanclay, 2017; Price, 2019). Yet, resettlement has been reframed as a development initiative that benefits displaced people (Cernea, 1997; Mathur, 2013; Vanclay, 2017; Yan, Wang, Wang, & Shi, 2018).…”

Managing health disasters and Civil–Military Cooperation: A case of COVID-19 in Pakistan

“…Civil–military cooperation (CIMIC) has become a catch-phrase in the disaster and crises management agendas of the 21st century, considering the unprecedented nature of the emerging natural disasters (AghaKouchak et al 2018 ; Zhou et al 2018 ). In particular, the Asia-Pacific region has been experiencing intensified and complex natural disasters comparable to any other region (Alisjahbana, Zahedi & Bonapace 2019; Price 2019 ). In a similar vein, Ma and colleagues ( 2016 ) argued that the emergence of novel and re-emergence of some old infectious diseases have exposed several countries to health emergency and disaster risk management (DRM) challenges.…”