Compensation and Resettlement Policies after Compulsory Land Acquisition for Hydropower Development in Vietnam: Policy and Practice

Pham Ty,Annelies Zoomers,A Van Westen

doi:10.3390/land2040678

Abstract

Under Vietnam’s State land ownership regime, the Government holds supreme authority over compulsory land acquisition. The results show that many improvements in land acquisition policies have been made, but poor implementation measures largely cannot prevent or even mitigate the adverse impacts on displaced persons. In particular, ineffective compensation measures and a lack of production land and livelihood alternatives accelerate the resistance of communities displaced as a result of hydropower development. The close alliance between the local government and the investor, which is considered as an “interest group”, is the main factor that leads to the ignorance of benefits of displaced people within the compulsory land acquisition process.

Highlights

There are increasing global concerns surrounding compulsory land acquisition in the public interest [1]
In view of the problematique discussed above, this study addresses the issue of a dam-related resettlement project near Hue city in Central Vietnam: How can the process of compulsory land acquisition for hydropower dam construction be described and understood? What problems are voiced by displaced people with respect to compensation and resettlement? and why? And what are the implications for improved policies towards the rebuilding of sustainable livelihoods and ensuring the wellbeing of forcibly displaced people?
The case study found that the majority of households were disappointed with the compensation and resettlement scheme

Summary

Introduction

There are increasing global concerns surrounding compulsory land acquisition in the public interest [1]. Land acquisition indirectly produces effects related to wealth redistribution; as farmers receive different levels of compensation, severe tensions arise between governments and farmers that burden the implementation of land policy and planning [10,11,12]. Social injustice arising from land acquisition is primarily related to inconsistencies in compensation policies in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. The former refers to variations that exist in the type and amount of land loss compensation received between different affected people whereas the latter implies differences in compensation types and amounts over time [15]. If the government of Vietnam aims to increase energy security and improve livelihoods through eviction, it is crucial to explore the causes of this paradox and to search for solutions that turn forced displacement into smart development opportunities [16]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion