Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
resettlement practices or, at a minimum, to mitigate some of the worst outcomes for vul-
nerable people.
SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
In collaboration with many colleagues, I have been working to refine a framework for as-
sessing the social effects of dams based on internationally accepted standards in the grow-
ing field of social impact assessment (SIA). As an anthropologist, I tend to view dams
as emblems of both geophysical and social engineering and to ask how we can better un-
derstand and mitigate the impacts of dams on communities, economies, and cultures. The
present framework for conducting SIA in China is extremely limited. If a project is funded
byaninternationalfinancialinstitutionsuchasUNDP,theWorldBank,ortheAsianDevel-
opment Bank, these organizations typically expect their own guidelines to be followed as
Law provides a legal basis for SIA and public participation. Article 5 of the law reads:
“Thegovernmentencouragesrelevantentities,experts,andthegeneralpublictoparticipate
in appropriate ways in the environmental impact assessment process” (Chinese National
People's Congress 2002a). But there is currently little formal structure guiding practition-
ers about how such a process would work in practice.
The difficulties of assessing the social costs of dams serve as a reminder that the key
issues at stake transcend the merely technical. Beyond the physical and ecological impacts
associated with hydropower projects, political leaders and citizens alike are concerned
about the geographical distribution of electrical power and water resources, the adminis-
trative decision-making process, the inclusion of relevant stakeholders, the relocation and
resettlement of displaced people, and the disruption of social, cultural, and economic life in
communities affected by dam construction. SIA is geared toward understanding these out-
comes at a point early enough in the development process to make a positive difference. It
canbedefinedas“theprocessofanalyzing(predicting,evaluatingandreflecting)andman-
aging the intended and unintended consequences on the human environment of planned in-
terventions (policies, programs, plans, projects) and any social change processes invoked
by these interventions so as to bring about a more sustainable and equitable biophysical
and human environment” (Vanclay 2002b:388).
The goals of SIA are quite straightforward. By identifying potential impacts in advance
of a large project, government agencies and private development interests can make better
decisions about which dam sites and design specifications are likely to cause what kinds of
social outcomes. They can also begin to plan at the outset of a project how to best mitigate
the worst social impacts and how to properly compensate affected individuals and com-
munities. These goals are part of a larger trend in international development over the past
