Social Analysis and Resettlement as Part of Environmental Assessment (EA)

Social Analysis as Part of the EA: The World Bank requires social analysis as part its Environmental Assessment (EA) process. The WB's Environmental Sourcebook (Chapter 3) describes the social and cultural issues in Environmental Review:

"Development projects are intended to modify social and natural environments in order to create or enhance the economic, health, educational and other benefits that are valued by society. This goal, however, can be denied through unanticipated or unintended negative social or environmental impacts that reduce desired benefits or, if severe enough, threaten the sustainability of the project. Environmental review provides an opportunity to identify major environmental impacts so that measures can be proposed to avoid or mitigate negative ones and to reinforce positive ones. An environmental assessment should identify the social changes, evaluate the social costs of long-term continuation of the project, and formulate strategies to achieve the desired objectives.

"Social analysis in EA is not expected to be a complete sociological study nor a social cost/benefit analysis of the project. Of the many social impacts that might occur, EA is concerned primarily with those relating to environmental resources and the informed participation of affected groups."

Resettlement as Part of the EA: The assessment of resettlement requirements for a project is a subcategory of Social Assessment. Resettlement is one of five topics that the WB requires, where they are relevant, be explicitly addressed in an EA (the World Bank's Environmental Sourcebook. Vol. 1, Chapter 3. 1991). The five topics are:

• Involuntary resettlement,
• New land settlement,
• Induced development,
• Indigenous peoples, and
• Cultural property

Resettlement can be:

(1) an aspect of hydroelectric power creation reservoirs, the classic and most difficult case; or of

(2) linear and smaller scale development projects such as thermal power plants, transmission lines, roads, and such; A third kind

(3) is urban resettlement for urban renewal, storm water drainage, etc.

World Bank guidelines, followed increasingly by other donor agencies, indicate the need for:

• Restoration of pre-displacement income levels;
• Organizational capacity for resettlement and follow-up;
• Physical progress of relocation work;
• Consultation; and
• Project specific issues relating to budget, timetables, monitoring, and reporting.

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