1. Involuntary Resettlement
OPERATIONAL POLICY 0P 4.12
Afshan Khawaja, OPCQC
Zagreb, May 2009

2. Overview Policy Objectives Triggers of the Policy Scope of Application
Involuntary Resettlement in Selected Sectors
Consultation
Resettlement Instruments
Case study

3. Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement
Cartoon by Chris Madden

4. Why a Policy on Involuntary Resettlement?
Sustainable economic development relies on the construction of new infrastructure
Infrastructure development, in turn, often requires the acquisition of privately owned land and assets
Typical development induced impacts: physical relocation, loss of land and assets, disruption of livelihoods and breakdown of communities
Impacts not just limited to large infrastructure; many projects require minor land acquisition or relocate people only a few hundred meters
Without proper planning and management, involuntary resettlement may result in severe economic, social and environmental impacts on affected populations

5. Policy Principles and Objectives
Avoid or minimize involuntary resettlement and associated disruptions
Treat resettlement as sustainable development programs
Provide affected people with opportunities to participate in the planning and implementation of resettlement programs
Assist displaced people to improve their livelihoods and standards of living or at least to restore them to pre-displacement levels

6. Impacts that Trigger OP 4.12
Direct economic and social impacts that both result from Bank-assisted projects, and are caused by the involuntary taking of land resulting from:
Loss of assets or access to assets
Loss of shelter or relocation
Loss of income sources or means of livelihood (whether or not the affected persons must move to another location)
Restriction of access to legally designated parks and protected areas that result in adverse impacts on the livelihoods of affected persons

7. Scope of Application OP 4.12 applies to:
all components of the project that result in involuntary resettlement, regardless of the source of financing other activities requiring land take that are:
directly and significantly related to the Bank-assisted project
necessary to achieve its objectives as set forth in the project documents
carried out, or planned to be carried out, contemporaneously with the project
a project regardless of the total number of people affected or the significance/severity of impacts

8. When OP 4.12 Does not Apply
Community based natural resource management
Programs or policies regulating resources on a regional or national scale
Disputes between private parties in land titling projects
When the following criteria is not met:
Involuntary taking of land (resulting in loss of land, assets and livelihoods)
Involuntary resettlement
Restriction of access associated with a Bank financed project

9. Non-Safeguard Social Risks
Labor retrenchment
Political instability
Conflict
Breakdown of Rule of Law

10. Key Stakeholders in a Resettlement Program
Affected people and their representatives
Host populations (population in areas receiving the resettlers)
Implementing agency
National, provincial, local governments
NGOs and CSOs
Project developer
Private sector firms involved in the project
Funding agencies
Consultants conducting various studies

11. Types of Involuntary Resettlement Linear
Linear projects – highways, railways, transmission lines, irrigation channels – long but narrow corridor of impact
Key impacts
Rural areas, may have minimal impact on single land holder (i.e. transmission line)
Urban areas, may require the demolition of structures along the project right-of-way (i.e. road upgrading) significantly impacting large numbers of people
Mitigation Challenges
Compensation – large number of small payments for temporary loss of assets–significant cumulative impacts
Resettlement activities need to coordinated across multiple jurisdictions and/or different cultural and linguistic areas

14. Types of Involuntary Resettlement Site-specific
Site-specific projects - discrete, non-linear projects (dams, reservoirs, highway interchanges, landfills) where land acquisition encompasses a fixed area
Key Impacts
Can disrupt the lives and lifestyles of people displaced and people who are dependent on land acquired
Can result in significant economic and physical displacement
Mitigation Challenges
Complex and difficult resettlement operations, especially in populated
Incremental resettlement in phases over a number of years
Maintaining consistent approach to compensation and income restoration over the life of the project
High-risk, potentially controversial

16. Types of Involuntary Resettlement Urban
Urban projects – urban environment (sanitation, sewerage), urban infrastructure (roads, railways)
Key impacts
Physical and economic displacement affecting housing, employment and enterprises
Little land acquisition, but works in areas where people are living and working can severe and costly impacts
Mitigation Challenges
Restoration of wage-based or enterprise-based livelihoods often tied to location (i.e. proximity to jobs, customers and markets)
Resettlement sites should be selected to maintain the proximity of affected people to established sources of employment and income
Maintain neighborhood networks – weakening of social safety nets

18. There are circumstances when clearance and relocation might be appropriate – for example, when slums are built in environmentally hazardous zones or along public rights of way (like roads or railway lines). But generally speaking this should not be the preferred policy approach.

19. Consultation
A two-way process in which stakeholders provide advice and input on the design of proposed projects that affect their lives and environment
Promotes dialogue between governments, communities, NGOs and implementing agencies to discuss all aspect of the proposed project
Iterative process from project preparation to completion
Mandated by the Environment Assessment, Involuntary Resettlement and Indigenous Peoples Policies and an integral element of the process for preparing relevant safeguard instruments

20. Mitigation Measures
Inform affected persons about their rights/ options pertaining to land acquisition/ resettlement
Provide prompt and effective compensation at full replacement cost for losses of assets attributable directly to the project
Provide resettlement assistance for vulnerable affected people

21. Mitigation Measures
Link Compensation/ Resettlement implementation to project timetable

22. Impacts Covered by OP 4.12 Yes or No?
Loss of farmland inundated by a reservoir
Loss of jobs due to Bank-financed privatization project
Loss of dwelling due to construction of a drainage canal
Loss of fruit trees planted on a plot of publicly owned land
Devaluation of property due to Bank-financed solid waste dump nearby
Loss of community access to pastures

23. Resettlement Instruments
Resettlement (Action) Plan*
Abbreviated Resettlement (Action) Plan
Resettlement Policy Framework
Process Framework
(more details in later session)
*/ or Land Acquisition (Action) Plan

24. Resettlement Instruments to Fit Project Context
Resettlement no longer restricted to large infrastructure projects
Minor land acquisition or relocation of people a short distance
Projects without land acquisition or physical relocation but impose restrictions to people’s access to legally designated parks and protected areas

25. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project “What worked and why”

26. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project
Major hydropower in northern Pakistan consisting of 4 key components:
a barrage to divert water from the Indus river into a power channel
52 km concrete lined power channel to transmit water to a power complex
Power complex
Transmission lines
Installed capacity 1450 MW
Total project costs: US $2.250 billion

27. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project
Key Social Impacts:
acquisition of 3,500 hectares of privately owned land
20,000 people affected by loss of land (almost 40,00 by the end of the project)
2,500 people mostly landless laborers and tenant farmers affected by loss of livelihoods
1,000 people affected by displacement

28. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project
What worked: meeting OP 4.12 objectives
Early attention to adverse social and environmental impacts
Social environment impacts incorporated into selection of design alternatives to avoid adverse impacts
Changes in project design reduced resettlement from 35,000 to 1,000
Reduced environmental and cultural heritage impacts (graveyards, religious structures)

29. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project

31. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project

32. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project
What worked: meeting OP 4.12 objectives
Resettlement treated as a development program (thinking beyond the short-term)
employment opportunities
skills training
micro-credit
gender specific training on small scale enterprises

33. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project

34. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project
What worked: meeting OP 4.12 objectives
Ongoing consultation throughout project preparation and implementation between different levels of government, affected people, NGOs, and implementing agencies on:
Project design
Resettlement strategy
Compensation rates and eligibility for entitlements/assistance
Choice of resettlement site and timing of relocation
Development opportunities
Procedures for redressing grievances
Mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation

35. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project

36. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project
What worked: meeting OP 4.12 objectives
Assisting people to improve their standards of living or at least to restore them to pre-displacement levels

37. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project

38. Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project

39. Key Policy Application Issues
Differences with Countries’ Practices
Replacement cost – for lost land and assets
Practice: undervalued, under-compensated
Livelihood restoration
Not part of standard practice
Eligibility
Controversial – assistance to people without legal claims

40. How to improve development outcomes?
The Challenge
How to improve development outcomes?

41. Thank you!