Rehabilitating livelihoods of relocated people affected by the Nuozhadu dam on the upper Lancang‐Mekong River

Abstract

The potential impacts of dam building on resettled communities have been highlighted worldwide. This paper examines the impacts of the newly built Nuozhadu dam on the livelihoods of local communities following the implementation of China's new resettlement policies. Based on household‐level data collected from the resettlement communities using semi‐structured interviews and in‐depth questionnaires, the pre‐ and post‐dam differences in per capita land holdings, annual incomes, expenditures, and social capital of those resettled were analysed at a household level using the sustainable livelihoods framework. The results showed that significantly increased annual incomes and improved infrastructure occurred widely in the resettlement communities, although dam building led to significant losses of farmland and moderate impacts on social capital for the resettlers. Overall, the new resettlement policies have contributed significantly to bettering livelihoods of resettled people affected by dam building. This finding highlights the potential for improving the livelihoods of dam‐induced resettlers in the ethnically diverse mountainous regions of southwest China.