Resettlement and development: a survey of two of Indonesia's Koto Panjang resettlement villages

Abstract

Construction of the Koto Panjang Dam was initiated in response to the rapidly increasing demand for electricity in the central region of Sumatra, Indonesia. The process of resettling the villages affected by this construction lasted from 1991 to 2000. The economic factors related to this resettlement programme include monetary compensation, productive capacity, and appropriate distribution of income. Better-off villages (such as those where a rubber plantation was found) received a higher level of compensation and used this compensation to purchase productive assets. Increasing the level of a family's income generates better income distribution and a lower level of poverty, whereas decreasing it creates worse income distribution and a higher level of poverty. The presence of productive capacity is necessary to guarantee the success of an involuntary resettlement programme that attempts to improve the standard of living for displaced peoples.

Inequality and Welfare of the Displaced Households Due to the Construction of Koto Panjang Dam

“…The average household income per month in the two villages is 1.5 million rupiah. This fact is similar to the results of previous studies, where the condition of household/village income in West Sumatra, in general, was relatively lower than household income in villages in Riau province (Karimi and Taifur, 2013).…”

“…This statement is evidenced by 76 percent of respondents answering that their welfare increased or better than before they moved. This condition is in line with the research of Karimi and Taifur (2013) who found the fact that 70 percent of household respondents stated that their welfare was better than before. This also indicates that the risk of impoverishment that occurs relatively successfully is overcome or minimized, thus creating a better or more prosperous society.…”

“…However, research conducted by Andrianus (2017) showed that not all households moved experienced impoverished, some households experienced an increase in welfare. This result supported by Karimi and Taifur (2013), who also shows that displaced households experience an increase in welfare. Furthermore, Ridwan et.…”

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

“…The indirect impacts of compulsory land acquisition also may be substantial [11,10]. In some cases, food insecurity is a serious problem arising from compulsory land acquisition [4,13,14]. Social injustice arising from land acquisition is primarily related to inconsistencies in compensation policies in both horizontal and vertical dimensions.…”

Resettlement Caused by Jatigede Dam Project -Consequence of Long Delayed Implementation of a Project

“…They have succeeded significantly in raising incomes. They do not need to use the reservoir but dug their fish culture ponds (Karimi and Taifur 2013).…”