Adaptation Strategies and Constraints of a Displaced Population in Tanzania: The Case of an Airport Expansion Project

Abstract

Within the context of infrastructure projects, the capacity of an affected population to cope with, and recover from, the adverse effects of displacement has been barely explored. Using a longitudinal 1 survey, we analysed the strengths of the displaced people in Tanzania through investigating their adaptation strategies. The KJ 2 analysis revealed two major adaptation trends. First, resettlees utilised their residential plots for crop cultivation immediately after relocation. Secondly, they reestablished their trading activities within a few years after they had settled in their new communities. The contextual disparity between the old and new settlements, however, impeded the growth of trading activities in the new settlement. Furthermore, the lack of infrastructure in the new settlement made it impossible for the resettlees to benefit financially from their crops. We argue that development planners should make deliberate efforts to reflect the real livelihoods of the affected people by ensuring that local skills fit into the new environment, thus enhancing the process of adaptation.