Update of Safeguard Policy and Application to Resettlement Related to Hydropower Project in Laos

抄録

Until the early 1990s of hydropower projects involving resettlement in Lao PDR (Laos), the lack of safeguard policies of financial institutions and the country's guidelines hindered the reliable implementation of resettlement action plans. In order to minimize project costs, care for the Project Affected Peoples (PAPs) tended to be neglected. In the Nam Ngiep 1 hydropower project (Project) in Laos, 3,500 residents were to be resettled. There was strong opposition to the implementation of the Project and resettlement from a large number of the PAPs. In addition, some risks related to resettlement became apparent during the planning and implementation stages of the Project, and it took a long time to obtain the consent of the PAPs. The update of financial institutions' safeguard policies was one of the risks which emerged during the Project development. Although the addition of social studies and the increased cost of implementing countermeasures to cope with the update of the safeguard policies were painful for the Project owner, it can be said that it was an indispensable process for the Project to obtain the consent of the PAPs and to formulate a resettlement action plan which included livelihood restoration.