Long-term outcomes of the livelihoods of displaced households after hydropower dam construction: A case study in Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam

Abstract

Abstract Millions of people have been displaced and resettled worldwide to build hydroelectric dams. Most of the previous studies show that the livelihoods of the resettled people have been getting worse, but these studies have only been evaluated over a short time frame and only selected two-time periods for assessment, including before and after displacement. Few follow-up and evaluation studies have been conducted for periods longer than 10 years. Therefore, this study conducted a study that was long-term at a resettlement site for hydropower construction in Vietnam to observe the change in livelihoods over more than 12 years of the people that were resettled. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the research to determine livelihood outcomes and to explain the causes of changes in livelihood pathways after resettlement. Our findings indicate that the loss of productive land for upland rice and dry crops was the greatest challenge for displaced households. Households which were headed by women, or those that were handicapped, were more susceptible to land loss. Displaced people also lost their traditional jobs and faced food insecurity because they did not have productive land for cultivating rice and cassava crops. As a result of this significant reduction in economic and food conditions, displaced households could not maintain their culture and religion, and the coherence of Bo Hon, the study village gradually decreased. However, displaced households made a faster recovery in income generation than other communities displaced by hydropower dams in Vietnam after 12 years. They could generate more income because they live near Hue city and receive strong support from local authorities. Through this study, it has been shown that the selection and arrangement of a suitable resettlement site with good access to the job market will be a prerequisite to help displaced households to adapt and develop their livelihoods after resettlement in conditions of limited access to natural resources.