Involuntary Displacement and Resettlement — Policy and ... - CEPA

1 IntroductionWorldwide experience demonstrates that most development projects whichdisplace people create severe economic, social and environmental problems.They aggravate poverty by dismantling production systems; relocatingpeople to unfriendly environments where their productive skills may be lessapplicable and the competition for resources much greater; weakeningcommunity structures and social networks; and dispersing kin groups anddiminishing cultural identity, traditional authority, and the potential formutual help. Involuntary resettlements usually cause severe long-termhardship, impoverishment, and environmental damage unless carefullyplanned and executed. It is now widely accepted that people should be atthe centre of any development activity, and such activity should aim toenhance the quality of their lives and address poverty. During the last fourdecades, thousands of families have been involuntarily resettled in SriLanka, mainly to facilitate irrigation, highway and urban developmentprojects, and the majority of them have been low income families. Untilrecently, development-induced displacement of population was considered a‘sacrifice’- with a comparatively small group of people displaced for thebenefit of a larger number of people. What these involuntary resettlersreceived as compensation, in general, was limited to statutory monetarycompensation for land and houses acquired for the project, provided thatlegal ownership could be proved, generally resulting in making poor andlandless people even poorer and more vulnerable.The Project Affected Persons (PAPs) based, pro-poor development-inducedand participatory Involuntary Resettlement Program, implemented by theLunawa Environment Improvement & Community Development Project(LEI&CDP), sought to ensure the tenure rights of the poor living in slum andshanty settlements in the Lunawa catchments. The project was launched in2002 with the objective of improving the environment and quality of life ofpeople by improving the storm water drainage systems in the Lunawa basin.The National Resettlement Policy (NIRP) was adopted by the government in2001, after the design phase of the LEI&CPD, and the scope of the projecthad to be revised, incorporating the NIRP principles, with UN-HABITATtechnical inputs and with additional funding by the government.This paper documents the key elements of an innovative implementationprocess of resettlement.148