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EIA in Public Transportation
Developments in public transportation projects such as mass rapid transit as it is in the Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Project have played an important role in the countrys economy. Many cities, when faced with the threat of ever-increasing traffic-generated pollution and congestion, tend to adopt policies and strategies that would reduce pollution and congestion. For the case of the Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Project, complex interactions of local and national actors with international aid agencies offer informative lessons on the pitfalls and opportunities related to the displacement of people caused by transportation infrastructure project construction.
According to Environmental Sourcebook published in 1997 by World Bank, Environmental assessments in the context of urban development have revealed that good practice in environmental assessment has at least three benefits beyond the avoidance or mitigation of adverse environmental impacts (World Bank, 1997):
Early identification of potential conflicts
EA can identify or clarify issues early in the project cycle before they develop into full-fledged problems. For example, EA procedures in the Second Solid Waste Management Project in Mexico helped to identify the role and concerns of scavengers and informal waste collectors. These findings led to a change in project design that addresses both the economic and social needs of this informal sector.
Integration of environmental concerns into the project design
The results of an EA can add to, or even change, the objectives of an urban project. As a result of the findings of an EA for the Second Shanghai Metropolitan Transport Project in China, a program for monitoring pollution levels on the new road and the development of a city-wide plan to control vehicular emissions were added to the projects implementation plans.
Increased institutional capacity for environmental management
In countries that had no specific requirements for environmental assessments at the time of the projects identification, for instance, Egypt and Sri Lanka, EAs for financed projects helped stimulate environmental measures that would otherwise have been absent. In countries that have instituted environmental regulations, such as Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Mexico, EAs for urban projects have considerably expanded the scope of national environmental assessment procedures. Many new urban projects include capacity-building components to assist and upgrade local agencies that will implement or monitor environmental management plans. These agencies may include environmental agencies, departments of public works, sanitation or transportation departments, or water and sewer utilities. Ultimately, these benefits result in better projects with a higher likelihood of successfully achieving their economic, social, and environmental objectives.
Well-designed and implemented resettlement programs can, however, turn involuntary resettlement into opportunities for development such as in the Japanese Ikawa Dam project and the NICs. The challenge is not to treat resettlement as an imposed externality, but to see it as an integral component of the development process. In this regard, it requires devotion of adequate efforts and resources in the preparation and implementation of the entire resettlement program. Treating displaced peoples as project beneficiaries can transform their lives in many ways that are hard to conceive. This is only possible if the victims are viewed as project-affected people who have to be assisted for the project to proceed (Cernea, 2000 9; Budiman, 1989 11).
This paper investigates the impacts of urban transportation development projects on involuntary resettlement. It also endeavors to examine the role of international lending agencies such as the world bank and their best practices in making urban transportation development project socially productive such as it was in the Hong Kong and Singapore experiences where the planning of communities provided decent and affordable housing to resettlers located along the public transportation line.
Background of the project
The environmental impact assessment is an analysis of the negative and positive outcomes that will arise in the environment due to a given project. The assessment takes into account the social-economical impact a project will have on the environment and the possible outcomes. Once the assessment has been conducted, the stakeholders will make decisions on how the given project will continue and any adjustments to be made to ensure that the project adheres to the recommendation of the Environmental Impact assessment agency. Environmental impact assessment is clearly defined by the Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Project, Feasibility study on MRT 6 Line. This project will vividly draw valuable lessons on appropriate practices to conserve the environment in urban transportation development projects (Dhaka Transport Coordination Board, 2011 22).
Resettlement of population has been a big issue in both the developing and developed countries due to the issue of involuntary resettlement of the population, though the local population agrees to the benefits arising out of developing infrastructural projects, the displacement of them has always been resented. Every year about 10 million people globally are displaced by dams, highways, ports, urban improvements, mines, pipelines, and petrochemical plants industrial and other such development projects (Cernea 2000).
Involuntary resettlement of persons usually involves two processes that target the socio-economical lifestyles of the subjects. First, resettlement of persons disrupts the socio-economic structure of a given community as production structures, social lifestyles and in some cases, income is disrupted temporarily or permanently. Secondly, resettlement results in disruption of the social framework and formation of new ones which calls for a thorough assessment of the pros and cons of the project and cautious resettlement and rehabilitation of the process.
The Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank intensively participated in the Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Project in Dhaka city over the last two decades. However, the project which was funded by the World Bank was the only such project initiated in the city and it was finally completed in 2005. Even though urban development projects ought to be a process in continuance; the city has not experienced any other transport infrastructure development works. Therefore, in 2005, a Strategic Transport Plan (STP) was established in Dhaka by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) in conjunction with the World Bank. The Strategic Transport Plan laid out several key strategic issues inclusive of project implementation, mass rapid transit as well as an organizational framework.
As of 2008, a preparatory study based on Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Phase1 was conducted in this regard by the Government of Bangladesh, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as other pertinent agencies. This Phase 1 study was completed in March 2010 and thereafter appropriate proposals were made on short, mid, and long-term projects for completion. Urban Transport Network Development Study Phase1focused on MRT Line 1as the initial project and GOB, JICA, and other significant agencies began a feasibility study on Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 6. The study included a feasible project plan and a project implementation plan that considered technical, financial, environmental, and social aspects (Cernea, 1997 11). The MRT Line 6 is 20.1km in length and it includes a total of 16 stations. The line starts from Uttara North and it passes through Pallabi, Mirpur 10, Begum Rokeya Sharani, Bijoy Sharani, Farm Gate, Sonargaon, TSC, Press Club, Paltan and it ends at Saidabad.
The study which is taking place at present will attend to issues on affected homes, property inclusive of government land and population right through the entire 20.1km in the projected grand MRT. 18 railway stations will need to be constructed and this will require land acquisition in Uttara, Pollabi, IMT, Mirpur10, Kazipara, Taltala, Agargaon, ChandrimaUddan, Farm Gate, Sonargaon, National Museum, Bangla Academy, National Stadium and Bangladesh Bank. To compensate for socio-economic losses, the study will give a proposition providing an ample compensation package in a bid to retain pre-project socio-economic standards for the affected individuals.
Impacts and Risks of Losses Caused by an Infrastructure Development Project
Source: Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (2011).
Therefore, the resettlement issue in Dhaka will also take into account other international Environmental Assessment impact analysis on similar projects and how the governments or authorities. By doing so, they will be taking into account the experiences of other Nations and how they overcame their issues.
From the above facts, there should be a resettlement Action plan to minimize the negative effects arising out of resettlement.
Methodology
Proposed Research Approach/Methodology
Qualitative research is a field of inquiry that crosscuts discipline and subject matter. It involves an in-depth understanding of a project and the reasons that govern its approach. Qualitative designs potentially provide a comprehensive understanding of complex social settings and a flexible and interactive process that follows the discovery of unexpected and unforeseen issues.
Qualitative researchers typically rely on four methods for gathering information: Participation in the setting, direct observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of documents and materials.
The researcher has adopted a qualitative research design because it is concerned with finding out characteristics that describe environmental behavior and factors that affect the performance of a particular sector of the Environmental assessment report. This design makes enough provision for the protection against bias and maximizes reliability. Thus the interviewers will be asked not to express their opinions.
Proposed Design
Data Collection and sources
Study methods will include the use of qualitative and participatory research methodology. Therefore data collection instruments will include structured questionnaires which will be administered. In-depth interviews will be carried out with community members affected by the Evergreen Rail Line Project, the Ministry of development and Infrastructure, and environmental scholars. Secondary data will be used as a source for the literature review, which will include material from articles.
Target Population and sample frame
The researcher will interview the stakeholders in the sector which include, Scholars of Environmental science, project staff, community Unions, and business unions affected by the project. He will also interview stakeholders from the public to examine the performance of the project board.
Sample
Simple random sampling will also be employed. Random sampling from a finite population gives each possible sample combination an equal probability of being picked up and each it the entire population to have an equal chance of being in the sample. Random sampling ensures the law of statistical regularity which states that if on average the sample chosen is a random one, the sample will have the same composition and the characteristics of the universe.
The Environmental Assessment Certificate offers a framework on how the assessment will be carried out and how the results will be used to determine the projects affected. Under the EAC, both positive and negative effects will be taken into consideration, whereby the assessments will be required to address the following issues:
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The technique used in the depiction of environmental locale and basis for establishing the affected projects
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The underlying principle for choosing the Project-specific, neighboring, and national study area limitations, taking into the thought that national study sites may be used as collective effects study areas;
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The level of study applied to each study area, where the local study area will be more intensely studied than the regional study area;
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Any indicators and information basis used to reflect on Project matters
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The environment and degree of impact(s) of whichever relation between the development as well as the baseline situation of the applicable environmental constituent.
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Any intended and existing alleviation measures that are in principle and economically practical for a recognized result
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Every outstanding development effects (i.e., an interaction result that is residual after undertaking planned improvement actions into thought)
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Determining whether or not an outstanding development outcome is important by:
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Recounting the precise technique to be used to review the implication of every leftover effect; and
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Taking into consideration the scale, geographic degree, period, reversibility, regularity, the likelihood of event, and assurance in the evaluation shaping the consequence of leftover effects.
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Nevertheless, the methodology adopted will be altered to incorporate the results and recommendations of the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee.
Literature Review
To effectively understand involuntary resettlement due to expansion or construction of new infrastructure, a review will be conducted on other countries that have successfully or unsuccessfully carried out the process. It will therefore incorporate the socio-economic factors of the society about the involuntary resettlement process which will include the involvement of the community, their desires, consent, their civil rights, and the relocation to new settlements.
In reviewing other involuntary resettlement programs, it would be wise to appreciate that each area/program presents a unique environment, and thus focus should be on areas that share the same urban environment such as Dhaka. Urban areas face the largest resettlement hurdle due to high population as a result land resource is usually a scarce and expensive recourse. For instance, Doebele 1987 notes hillsides and river valleys of every large city in developing nations are crowded with people living in difficult conditions. He goes on to explain the scarcity of land for the urban poor in developing countries was causing trouble in the 1980s and is set to worsen in the future .
Due to economic development in both developing and developed countries, infrastructure expansion projects are always on the increase and as a result, involuntary resettlement of the population is always taking place. Mathur 1995 Its estimated that every single year, a cohort of at least 10 million people throughout the developing world enter a process of involuntary resettlement. According to him, this is caused by new development projects that are established annually in dam construction, urban, and transport projects.
In almost all countries, there isnt precise legislation or laws that govern the resettlement of persons but what exists are rules governing the conveyance of private property. Thus none of the rules take into consideration the involuntary resettlement issue. For instance, the Indian laws on the land acquisition were enacted in the nineteenth century when the maintenance of law and order, and not development, was the main focus of colonial government administration. This archaic laws, still operative, are however too weak to meet the problems that people now face due to acquisition of their lands for dams, highways, thermal power stations, mining operations and other similar Development projects
Most states practice the rule of eminent domain, where the State has the authority/power to legally repossess any land under its jurisdiction. Thus the law operates to the inconvenience of the original landowners, though they are financially compensated for the land, the compensation is never enough as it fails to take into consideration other issues arising out of the involuntary resettlement. This is because the government when awarding the compensation looks into the market value of the land and not the replacement value of it. As a result those people who face involuntary resettlement rarely re-establish their lies back to the former state there were in before the resettlement.
In Africa, the situation is very much the same, In Africa, Karimi (2005) notes, when it comes to taking over private land for development projects the state is under no obligation to demonstrate public purpose. Legal frameworks exist to uphold the interests of the state, not the project affected people. Shihata (1991) noted that in many countries, the national legal framework of resettlement operations is incomplete resettlement legal issues are treated as a subset of property and expropriation law. For various reasons, these national laws do not provide a fully adequate framework for development-oriented resettlement. As a result of the lack of a legal framework to address involuntary resettlement issues, the governments legal system deal with issues arising in an ad hoc manner through implementing decisions that are specific to the particular project, and thus there isnt a uniform framework to address the issue, therefore, resulting inadequacies. Due to these inconstancies and lack of legal frameworks, the World Bank developed a policy to guide the process The World Bank policy has served as a template for several other policies, such as the policies issued by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other international development agencies.
Free Prior Informed Consent
In all resettlement programs, it is vital that all the stakeholders be actively involved in the process whereby their considerations and view on the issue should be factored in. Thus, the concept of Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) should be factored into the process. This concept calls for a more people-focused resettlement program, as opposed to a project, focused resettlement. Therefore stakeholders affected by the project are called upon to give their consent on the project and the resettlement program. In doing so, the whole program will be embracing the civil and human rights of the community affected therefore ensuring that the process is free from any encumbrances or legal issues arising during the process. Hill et al (2010) provide an information guide on how communities can engage project implementers in society. Also, they negotiate for shared benefits from such a project and learning more about the same as well as give informed consent. Under this framework, the community is entitled to a proactive role in the project making the project more beneficial to them, The concept of FPIC has been embraced all over the worlds especially in situations where the projects are more community based or where they intend to benefit the indigenous people where the project is situated.
International Aid Agencies Safeguard on Involuntary Resettlement
Hence due to its global applicability, the FPIC concept has been adopted into international law thereby giving it a legal backing. As a result of the adaptation of the FPIC concept in international law, all major international agencies use the concept in determining the viability of projects and whether the benefits arising will be more beneficial to the local community as opposed to the harm arising out of the involuntary resettlement. For instance, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made significant adjustments to its project policies whereby it focused more on the socio-environmental consciences when funding projects.
Case Study
Evergreen project
This project will conduct an environmental impact assessment on the involuntary resettlement of the population about the construction of a railway line planned for suburban Vancouver. The construction of the Suburban railway line will present a unique scenario as the construction project is to take place in an urban area that has human settlement and hence involuntary resettlement of the population will have to be done to give way to the project.
Under the CEAA, socio-community and socio-economic assessments of the Rail line construction will have to be conducted on the evergreen Line project. The assessment will bring to light the impact the project will have on the socio-economic aspects of the Vancouver environment. Thus assessment will take into account the influence the project will have on the local economy, the residents, its business lifelines, real estate, and the community wellbeing.
Resettlement in Vancouver
It is no doubt that the impending construction of the evergreen railway line will result in involuntary resettlement of the local population to give way to the construction of the rail line as the line is set to bring socio and economical benefits to the Vancouver economy despite this fact, the project must be implemented in a way that the benefits outdo the negative impacts arising. As the resettlement is involuntary a lot of resistance is bound to arise as the residents will not give their consent also, the residents lack alternatives but to agree with the resettlement program Hill et al (1997 233) note infrastructure sustainability is about minimizing impacts and maximizing opportunities across economic, social and environmental dimensions during the delivery of infrastructure.
Therefore, the resettlement issue in Vancouver will also take into account other international Environmental Assessment impact analysis on similar projects and how the governments or authorities. By doing so, they will be taking into account the experiences of other Nations and how they overcame their issues. From the above facts, there should be a resettlement Action plan to minimize the negative effects arising out of resettlement.
Ikawa Dam Construction Project
Ikawa Dam construction project looks into the effects that arise due to involuntary resettlement in Japan. Interviews were carried out on re-settlers of Ikawa Dam who had earlier on moved and settled into other resettlement quarters. These interviews were undertaken 50 years after their resettlement. The outcomes of the interviews pinpointed several issues such as, even though the society was suffering from depopulation and aging, a large number of them were contented with the choices they had made and their livelihood, the re-settlers reasons behind their choices were dissimilar and lastly the chief reason for their contentedness lay in the successful nurturing of their offspring. It was argued that upcoming resettlement programs would necessitate sufficient attention to re-settlers deliberate preferences and also their far-sight in consideration to the next age group.
The construction of dams often results in displacement as well as involuntary resettlement of numerous homes. Particularly in developing countries, construction of dams has faced disapproval because involuntary resettlement creates the risk of depriving off the resettled people and also adversely impacting the natural environment although constructing dams is one of the major options for the development and harvesting of water resources.
Japan, as a developed country, has lots of dams that were built in the course of rebuilding and economic progress after World War II. Dam construction has led to the occurrence of numerous cases of involuntary resettlement. At some point, involuntary resettlement became a main social issue in the country given that rapid economic growth needed successive dam construction throughout Japan although the number of affected families was relatively small.
The plight of Japans re-settlers had been virtually neglected during the period of the countrys economic development. However, it is not known what happened to the populace resettled in Japan in the long run after the relocation. In this case study, the experiences and long-term effects of involuntary resettlement in Japan are carefully looked into to draw lessons for potential planning and execution of resettlement programs and also for development schemes themselves.
Indeed there are numerous findings from the study of experiences and long-term consequences of involuntary resettlement in Japan and this case, that of the Ikawa Dam resettlement issue. Firstly it is conclusive that the re-settlers causes that lay behind their decisions with regards to their resettlement were widely different. Initially, the decisions seemed unanimous among all homes a factor that the resettlement programs planners had anticipated but the interview results exposed otherwise (Kusek et al, 2004 156). The outcome showed that the decisions were made by each household separately and independently after putting into consideration their capacity, predilections, and limitations.
The perceptions of both the resettlement program planners and re-settlers were different since the re-settlers did not visualize the program like that that emphasized agricultural growth including rice farming as a new prospect in the manner in which the planners had planned out. On the other hand, this difference in perception alleviated the possible discontentment of the re-settler due to the blueprint for the new village not being realized. However, it occurred that in the long run, the re-settlers became satisfied with their living in the resettlement locales although they did not anticipate much from the resettlement program. Finally, the re-settlers satisfaction lay on the successful upbringing of their offspring and securing a stable livelihood for the children in the city. In effect, nearly all the resettlers who had offspring gave a provision of better education to their children up to the point of incurring huge expenses for their children to leave the Ikawa region and remain in the city following the resettlement. It is therefore evident that the source for contentment with regards to the resettlers was not suitably planned or integrated into the resettlement program.
Recommendations
One factor that ought to have been considered would have been giving ample attention to resettlers. If the planners give sufficient concentration to resettlers prospective preferences and stratagems in complying with the compulsory relocation, they might be capable of developing improved resettlement options. By so doing, it is vital to note the fact that resettlers and the planners perceive the resettlement options differently. With this in mind, it is, therefore, necessary to incorporate the resettlers in the planning of the resettlement program. This is a valuable opportunity for the resettle scheme planners to gain knowledge of the resettlers probable preferences and strategies. Picciotto et al (2000 79) pinpointed out that the realization of income restitution and contentment with resettlement are diverse. The planners should neither treat the resettlers as simple recipients nor victims of resettlement.
For the Ikawa Dam situation, there occurred several unforeseen fundamentals that influenced the realization of the new Village Building Scheme on a long-term basis. Despite successful child nurturing and the securing of independent livelihoods for the next generation bringing about satisfaction in the resettlement program, it may have been brought about by events outside the control of the resettlement planners (Picciotto, 2001 54)
The second factor to be put into conside
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