Relocation and Resettlement in Ceará - Houston Advanced ...

Introduction
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FRC, PAGE 8
Involuntary displacement of communities and families is often an unavoidable consequence of
infrastructure development. Especially in the case of water resource infrastructure, where
reservoirs and canals are constructed, often along the most populated lands along riverbanks,
displacement of large numbers of people is common. In recent years, the State of Ceará has
embarked on a number of water resources development programmes to combat frequent droughts
and rural out-migration and promote economic development in the interior of the state. As part of
these efforts, one large dam—the Castanhão—and a series of medium earth-filled dams are
already being constructed. In addition to these, a number of other projects are under active
consideration, including a network of canals to link the various river basins in the State. To
promote industrial development in the State, a large port is being built at Pecem. All of these
projects will displace a number of people, ranging from 12,000 in the case of the Castanhão, to a
few families in the case of Angicos, one of the smaller earth-filled dams.
Recent well-publicised disputes relating to displacement and resettlement in large dam projects
such as the Sardar Sarovar Dam in India and the Itaparica Dam in Brazil have raised the
consciousness of planners and policy makers with regards to the socio-economic disputes arising
from involuntary displacement. There are two major issues that planners and policy makers need
to address when designing and implementing projects that cause displacement: (1) adequate
compensation for community and individual assets—both legally titled and traditionally
recognised—appropriated by the project, and (2) the rehabilitation of economic, social, cultural, and
familial ties broken/strained by the project.
To help ensure that displaced communities, families, and individuals in Ceará are economically
and socially rehabilitated, the Secretariat of Water Resources of the State of Ceará contracted the
Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) to study current resettlement efforts in the state with
a view to (1) providing a field-based evaluation of the resettlement operations in the State, (2)
generating policy recommendations that highlight areas needing improvement, and (3) determining
the utility of initiatives and programmes established for stakeholder participation in the resettlement
process. An important component of this evaluation is to report on the efficiency and efficacy of the
innovative multi-participatory decision making forum pioneered at the Castanhão Dam site, called
the Multiparticipatory Working Group (GM).
HARC researchers conducted the field-based evaluation during June through August 1998.
During this period the HARC team visited communities affected by the Castanhão Dam, the
PROURB dams Ubaldinho and Sitios Novos, and Porto Pecem. Findings from these field visits
were written up in two Interim Reports that were presented to SRH in 1998. The First Interim
Report presented findings from field visits to the Ubaldinho Dam and to rural communities affected
by Castanhão, while the Second Interim Report focused on resettlement of urban areas affected
by Castanhão, the Sitios Novos Dam and Porto Pecem. The information provided in these reports
included:
Perceptions of the various resettled communities.
The methods and varying degrees of community participation in resettlement plans, design of
resettlement habitations, and consultation with women.
Available details of income restoration plans, including current and potential problems
hindering the restoration of pre-relocation income streams and levels.