Page 221 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol Two

570 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

of people from their lands, homes, and shops. Political are evacuated out of vast expanses of lands, declared as
factors and vested interests interfere in such displace- “parks” or “protected areas” to be preserved uninhabited.
ments constantly, often “justifying” or amplifying dis- Such subtypes are conventional groupings, usually pro-
placements beyond what is objectively necessary. posed by resettlement researchers, but they are based on
Although such imposed displacements are supposed to real, objective features and differences, and are necessary
be carried out in a planned, respectful of human rights, for elaborating different policy solutions and for diag-
and controlled manner, they often are ill-planned and un- nostics, predictions, and better planning.
derfinanced.They cause enduring adverse economic, cul- In turn, the resettlement patterns that result as out-
tural, political, and psychological effects, victimizing the comes of displacement can in turn be used as a typology
affected populations. criterion. New concepts have been coined during the last
Not all development-caused displacements are unavoid- decade to distinguish “new settlement” creation from
able and justified by public interest. Some specific dis- “infill resettlement,” as well as “linear resettlement” (in rail-
placements could simply be avoided or reduced by way track construction) or “vertical resettlement,” when
optimizing planning.Yet the continuous increase in pop- land scarcity leads to resettling single-floor-dwellers in
ulation densities exacerbates land scarcity. Scientists pre- multifloor buildings (an approach widely used in China).
dict that this type of displacement will continue in the
future as a companion of development and one of its Impoverishment Risks
painful social pathologies. Most governments do not dis- in Displacement
close, or understate, the aggregate statistics of de- Development-caused displacements embody a perverse
velopment-caused displacements. Research by the World contradiction of development itself, as they reflect the in-
Bank concluded that during the last two decades of the equitable distribution of benefits and losses from devel-
twentieth century at least 180 million people were dis- opment and raise major ethical questions.The worst and
placed worldwide over a decade by development projects most widespread effect of development-induced displace-
in just three economic sectors: urban, transportation, and ments is the impoverishment of a vast number of people.
dam construction. This number would be larger if statis- Empirical research has identified the risks of impover-
tics from other sectors would become available. Since ishment, destitution, and social disarticulation imposed
1948, during India’s short postindependence history of on the internally displaced people. These risks are syn-
five decades, over 50 million people were displaced by thesized in the Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruc-
development projects.TheWorld Summit in Johannesburg tion (IRR) Model for Resettling Development-displaced
in 2003 defined compulsory displacements for develop- Populations (Cernea 1997, 2000), which highlights the
ment reasons as a global problem. following eight fundamental risks of impoverishment:
Within the large category of development-displaced landlessness; joblessness; homelessness; marginalization;
people, several subcategories can be distinguished by increased mortality and morbidity; food insecurity; loss
applying additional criteria. Along sectoral criteria, for of access to common property natural resources; and
instance, distinctions can be made mainly between urban social disarticulation. Given the political and cultural
sector displacement, agricultural and forest sector dis- complexities of displacement, which go beyond the eight
placement, hydropower dam–caused displacement, in- risks listed above, policies and projects must address
dustrial and mining displacement, and transportation impoverishment risks at three interrelated levels: (a) risks
corridor–caused displacement (such as highways, rail- confronting individuals and households; (b) risks con-
ways, airports, and high-speed train lines). Research has fronting communities; and (c) society/systemic risks.
pointed out also the category of conservation-induced Displacement processes are complex processes occurring
population displacement, as when traditional residents under essentially unequal power relations, are always