GIBB PRESENTED BY: Karien Erasmus and Shantal Rampath IAIA SA 2014 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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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

Date: 29 August 2014

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 and safe water. 37% of those people live in Sub- Saharan Africa. 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. 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! In developing countries, as much as 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.

Water Social Development

Dynamic interrelationship

Water infrastructure Social sustainability

Subsequent vital need for

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.

• In Africa alone: 400,000 people being affected by involuntary

resettlement through direct water infrastructure developments.

• Impacts include:
• Destruction of natural habitats and settlements;
• Displacement and resettlement;
• Outbreak of diseases; and assess
• Social and cultural disturbances.
• Water infrastructure related projects should include

community participation from project conception through to post project monitoring – enable adaptation.

Acknowledge Consider Address Assess

Community needs Project solutions Pro-active participation Project sustainability Community interaction Adaptation

Effective community participation

.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SEEKS TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING DURING INVOLUNTARY RESETTLEMENT

INFORM

Providing communities with a balanced and

• bjective

information to assist their understanding of decision making processes involving infrastructure development.

CONSULT

Consulting with communities and

• btaining public

feedback decisions which can impact

• them. Active

involvement of community in the decision making process.

EMPOWER

Empowering local communities through skills development programmes and benefit sharing schemes as a result

• f water

infrastructure development.

INVOLVE

Involving local communities throughout the development process to ensure that any issues and concerns raised.

Considering adaptive capacity in resettlement

Availability of Assets and natural Resources Knowledge and Information Supportive decision making among governance Innovation Availability of natural resources for local communities to sustain themselves and allowing communities to respond to change. Allowing /providing communities with the knowledge and information in support

• f adaptation

activities. The resettlement process is able to respond to changes with regards to governance structures and future planning. The resettlement process is able to create an enabling environment for affected communities to explore solutions to take advantage of new opportunities.

Looking at resettlement from a sustainability perspective

Impacts of resettlement Value formation and community development efforts Community entrepreneur ship Skills and capacity development Poverty reduction Benefit sharing

Adopting a strategic approach. Community consultation . Capacity strengthening. Community Participation

Positive Results of grassroots community interaction

Awareness creation. Further development. Establishing demonstration effect. Community building.

People become aware of their capacity to 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 to identify additional needs and to set out to address these. Successful projects address community concerns and illustrate the effective results of working together and focusing together. Community development strengthens a community. 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

KARIEN ERASMUS

+ 27 (82) 905 2383 + 27 (11) 519 4768 kerasmus@gibb.co.za

SHANTAL RAMPATH

+ 27 (76) 318 9332 + 27 (11) 519 4666 srampath@gibb.co.za