Resettlement
Previous hydropower dams were developed in Laos without laws or guidelines for resettlement. Laos' first hydropower dam, the Nam Ngum dam built in 1971, has paid a high cost in terms of the resulting resource conflicts and degradation that continues today. Much of these costs are borne by local communities. (See the AMRC's Nam Ngum web site for details)
Nam Theun 2 was the first formally managed resettlement proposed in the Lao PDR. In January 1995 the government passed a decree that defined the members of a Resettlement Committee responsible for the supervision of the resettlement, effective to the day of completion, and drafted Laos first resettlement policy that defined general objectives and the terms of compensation that villagers were entitled to.
Since then, Nam Theun 2's
model of resettlement planning has been utilised in other hydro schemes being planned and
built throughout Laos.
While the developers claim that the project has followed World Bank guidelines on
resettlement and indigenous peoples, full compliance has been highly questionable
particularly early to mid-way through the planning process. While some aspects have been
rectified, the early failures may well have continuing negative long term consequences.
Conflicts of interest have arisen over how the project is developed and where the risks
are being allocated particularly due to the representation of NTEC on the
resettlement committee and its control over the design and development of the
environmental assessment and resettlement plans. Such a situation arises out of the
intimate relationship (partnership?) between the BOOT developer and the government and in
the case of Lao hydropower, the situation is accentuated due to the equity position the
government takes.
In the early stages, there was no public participation - local communities and NGOs were
not involved in the project scoping stages. It was not until mid-1996 that local
communities and international NGOs were consulted, approximately 2 years after detailed
planning and studies began (7 years if one considers the original SMEC environmental
assessment). By this time, locations for resettlement had been determined, and new forms
of livelihoods that would harness the villagers' labour to a market economy had already
been drawn up. The concept of participation that NTEC implemented was no more than
consultations with the villagers and NGOs after the fact.
A dilemma for the government now is that after almost 30 years of
planning, and 2 years since the villagers were told that they would be resettled, the
futures of local communities and what is left of their resources are faced with a great
deal of uncertainty.
Photo: Andrew Wyatt
The first consultations between NTEC representatives
and villagers in Ban Don highlighted the inexperience of
the consultation teams in communicating with villagers.
The use of maps to illustrate the location and orientation
of resettlement sites (illustrated above) was highly
inappropriate when the majority of villagers had no
training in the use of maps
Photo: Andrew Wyatt
This consultation at Ban Kay Oh was led by a member of
the Lao People Revolutionary Party (centre) who
explained to the villagers that Nam Theun 2 was a project
supported by the party and government. The response was
overwhelmingly positive and no objections were recorded
by the NTEC employee taking minutes at left.
Photo: Satoru Matsumoto
This newly constructed village near Muang Nakay was built
by the BPKP as a demonstration resettlement village for
the villagers of Ban Bouama in mid-1996. The central
government and NTEC denied any involvement. The
constructions, undertaken without any consultations with
villagers, proved to be highly inappropriate. The lack of
shade trees and the metal tin roofs resulted in unbearably
hot interiors, and their close proximity to each other left
little room for household gardens.