The social impacts of dams
The social impacts of dams team participates in research on :
- Social impacts of large dams
FutureDAMS researchers are evaluating how the post-project benefit streams from dams promote or undermine equity within (eg gender) and between vulnerable populations (eg upstream-downstream). Moreover, we will determine how impacts of dams on local populations (on community cohesion, livelihoods, asset tenure, gender equality) can best be addressed within practical operational frameworks (the safeguards agenda) to ensure more equitable distribution of benefits (the positive benefits agenda). - Climate finance
The consortium is investigating decision making around pathways to low carbon and climate resilient development alongside insights on energy and water investment. The sustainability of infrastructure projects requires resilience to political imperatives, acceptability across the breadth of stakeholders and being aligned with existing and probable future environmental commitments. These in turn influence the finance institutions understandings of the risk of the investment and their interest in both future investment and risk transfer (i.e. insurance). Both public and private financial institutions are searching for opportunities to invest in the low-carbon, climate resilient economy to build ambition for the 2020 and future National Determined Contribution updates and deliver the $100 billion of climate finance promised.
The team:
- Lila Buckley, IIED
- Mesfin Gebremichael, Addis Ababa University
- Emmanuel Obuobie, CSIR
- Sejal Patel, IIED
- Neha Rai, IIED
- Christopher Schulz, University of Cambridge
- Jamie Skinner, IIED
- Sarah Vaughan, The Policy Practice
Resettlement and benefit sharing
Jamie Skinner is investigating the social impacts of dams, examining the issues concerning resettlement (including gender considerations) and what we have we learnt from the past. Jamie is also exlporing the concepts of benefit sharing with Christopher Schulz.
Sarah Vaughan and Mesfin Gebremichael are also researching the resettlement of Gumuz communities around Ethiopia’s Blue Nile Dam.
Climate finance for hydropower
Sejal Patel and Neha Rai have been looking at how climate finance for hydropower can a enable a transition to a low-carbon climate-resilient future.
China
The focus of this research (led by Lila Buckely) is the dynamics of and safeguarding practices of Chinese overseas hydropower investments, providing insight into whether practices are improving and what is driving this. Understanding these drivers helps us to identify leverage points for improving the social and environmental outcomes of large dams in LDCs.
This video below was produced for the FutureDAMS annual forum (November 2020) as a summary of the Lila’s current research progress.
https://youtu.be/r3jVNwI1s24
Social impacts research
| Title/download | Summary | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/2020 | Working paper | Resettlement of Gumuz communities around Ethiopia's Blue Nile dam | This paper explores the programme of resettlement of Gumuz farmers and others living at low altitude along the Nile and Beles rivers, whose home areas are expected to be flooded on completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and filling of a new reservoir. |
| 06/2020 | Webinar | Resettlement of Gumuz communities around Ethiopia’s Blue Nile dam | Dr Sarah Vaughan presented the preliminary conclusions from her research for a FutureDAMS webinar. |
| 04/2020 | Webinar | Climate finance for hydropower: enabling the transition to a low-carbon future | Sejal Patel and Neha Rai discuss the role of climate financiers in supporting hydropower, and look at why hydropower project developers should be interested in the benefits of accessing climate finance. |
| 01/2020 | Issue paper | Climate finance for hydropower. Incentivising the low-carbon transition | IIED's Issue Paper on climate funding for sustainable hydropower projects to support the transition to a low-carbon future |
| 12/2019 | Briefing | How climate finance can help repurpose hydropower | IIED's Briefing on how policy can enable the shift to clean energy by mobilising climate funds for hydropower projects |
| 04/2019 | Working paper | Dam-Induced Displacement and Resettlement: A Literature Review | A literature review of published scientific articles in peer reviewed journals to establish what the scientific literature has to say about resettlement, from the first articles on this issue that started appearing in the early 1970s. |
| 07/2018 | Briefing | Gender considerations in the restoration of livelihoods: resettlement from hydropower | Following a review of existing policies and outcomes of resettlement approaches for large hydropower dams, we suggest how incorporating the gendered dimension of resettlement can improve these policies to help women and men successfully restore their livelihoods. |