Date: 29 August 2014 GIBB PRESENTED BY: Karien Erasmus and Shantal Rampath IAIA SA 2014 CONFERENCE The Impact of Large Scale Water Infrastructure Development: Addressing Social Insecurity and Involuntary Resettlement through an Applicable Sustainability Model Incorporating Effective Community Participation
Presenter introduction This Paper is a joint effort by Mrs. Karien Erasmus and Ms. Shantal Rampath Brief Background on Team: Karien Erasmus is a sustainability consultant with nine years of experience. Her key experience includes sustainability planning, human settlement development and strategic development planning. Karien has worked on a number of high-profile projects, including the Kei Rail Economic Development Corridor, the Gauteng Spatial Development Framework Revision and the Gautrain Rapid Rail project. She spent a year in Nigeria working on the Port Harcourt New City Master Plan. In conjunction with Me. Rampath Karien prepared a best practice analysis and review of the resettlement projects for the Lesotho Millennium Development Agency. Shantal Rampath is a Sustainability Consultant with 8 months of experience in the environmental field. Shantal’s key experience lies with sustainability, sustainable strategy assessments and climate change related projects. Shantal has been instrumental in analysing and assessing a number of resettlement projects as part of the recent Lesotho Millennium Development Agency Best Practice assessment.
The context of water development 783 million people do not have access to clean Dynamic interrelationship and safe water. 37% of those people live in Sub- Subsequent vital need for Saharan Africa. 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. Social Water Social Water Development infrastructure sustainability In developing countries, as much as 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions. The United Nations estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa alone loses 40 billion hours per year collecting water; the same as an entire year's labour in all of France!
Presentation overview The Topic presented will: • Provide an overview of the strategic impacts of large scale water infrastructure projects from a social perspective; • Discuss community participation framework pertaining to large-scale infrastructure projects; and • Consider a framework to address resettlement including pro-active grassroots community participation .
Water infrastructure development: pro’s and con’s • Water infrastructure projects play a major role in the socio-economic transformation of many countries: • Poverty reduction; • Addressing to some extent Millennium Development Goals; • Irrigation; • Tourism objectives related to water activities; • Resource conservation; and finally • Adaptation and climate change mitigation options. • Increasing needs for the safeguarding of water, flood control and livelihood support necessitate and increase dams and water infrastructure requirements – concerns: • Endangered livelihoods and the impacts on subsistence practices; • Displacement of people – stripping people of their “sense of place” ; and • Major land use impacts – in terms of, for example, traditional land rights and uses and sustainable service provision concerns.
Water Infrastructure development and resettlement • Design and management around water infrastructure have not been optimized to minimize impacts on local communities. Acknowledge Consider Address Assess • In Africa alone: 400,000 people being affected by involuntary resettlement through direct water infrastructure developments. • Impacts include: Community needs Project solutions • Destruction of natural habitats and settlements; • Displacement and resettlement; Pro-active participation • Project sustainability Outbreak of diseases; and assess • Social and cultural disturbances. • Community interaction Water infrastructure related projects should include Adaptation community participation from project conception through to post project monitoring – enable adaptation.
Effective community participation EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SEEKS TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING DURING INVOLUNTARY . RESETTLEMENT INFORM CONSULT EMPOWER INVOLVE Providing Consulting with Empowering local Involving local communities with communities and communities communities a balanced and obtaining public through skills objective throughout the feedback decisions development information to development which can impact programmes and assist their process to ensure them. Active benefit sharing understanding of involvement of schemes as a result that any issues decision making community in the of water and concerns processes involving decision making infrastructure raised. infrastructure process. development. development.
Considering adaptive capacity in resettlement Supportive Availability of Knowledge and decision making Assets and Information among Innovation natural governance Resources The resettlement Availability of natural The resettlement process is able to Allowing /providing resources for local process is able to create an enabling communities with the environment for communities to sustain respond to changes knowledge and themselves and with regards to affected communities information in support allowing communities governance structures to explore solutions of adaptation to take advantage of to respond to change . and future planning. activities . new opportunities .
Looking at resettlement from a sustainability perspective Value formation and Community Skills and Benefit Poverty community entrepreneur capacity Impacts of sharing reduction development ship resettlement development efforts Capacity strengthening. Community consultation . Adopting a strategic approach. Community Participation
Positive Results of grassroots community interaction People become aware of their capacity to Awareness creation. change their situation and the resources they have access to in this regard. People experience development in positive manner and in this regard has the confidence Further development. to identify additional needs and to set out to address these. Successful projects address community Establishing demonstration effect. concerns and illustrate the effective results of working together and focusing together. Community development strengthens a community. Community building. Strengthening at both abstract and concrete level.
Conclusion • Involuntary resettlement does not have to become a negative process. • It can become an opportunity for community growth and development. • Resettlement is not only about moving people temporarily, there are longer term impacts to the process. • Communities have to establish themselves in the long term and this framework aims to address those longer term needs. • Development has to occur in a structured and well planned manner to ensure positive end results. • In this regard participation must be effectively integrated with existing projects management tools and processes. • Participation – grassroots community engagement.
CONTACT + 27 (82) 905 2383 KARIEN + 27 (11) 519 4768 ERASMUS kerasmus@gibb.co.za SHANTAL + 27 (76) 318 9332 RAMPATH + 27 (11) 519 4666 srampath@gibb.co.za
Recommend
More recommend
