Implications of resettlement associated with dams in ten Asian cases were examined by an international research project. The research considered livelihood rehabilitation of resettlers in 10 dams built in Indonesia (4 cases), Japan (2 cases), Laos (2 cases), Sri Lanka (1 case), and Turkey (1 case). Many similarities were found among cases and useful lessons for projects in future were identified. Many resettlers were concerned about the future of their children, and they tended to select resettlement destinations based on which destinations could provide their children with better education. In some cases, resettlers moved to distant cities to secure better livelihoods than before. The traditional land-for-land policies suggest that a poor farmer remains a poor farmer even after relocation. In a country like contemporary Indonesia or Japan in early 1960s, land-for-land policies make farmers relatively poorer, while non-farmers benefit substantially from the country's rapid economic development. The study concludes that land-for-land should still be a major option for resettlers, while resettlement packages not based on land-for-land scheme should be provided as alternative options for resettlers.
Mikiyasu Nakayama received his B.A. (1980), M.Sc. (1982) and Ph.D. (1986) from the University of Tokyo. He served as a program officer in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) between 1986 and 1989. From 1989 to 1999, he taught at the Utsunomiya University. From 1994 to 1996, he worked in the North African Department of the World Bank. From 1999 he was a professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, as well as Vice Dean of the United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences. Since 2004, he has been a Professor of the University of Tokyo, in the Department of International Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences.
Ryo Fujikura is a Professor of Hosei University, Japan. He received his B.A. (1978) and M.Sc. (1980) from the University of Tokyo, and Doctor of Natural Science (1982) from Innsbruck University, Austria. He served as an officer in the Environment Agency (presently, Ministry of the Environment) of the Japanese Government between 1984 and 1995. In 1991-1993, he was seconded as an environmental expert to the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (now, the Japan International Cooperation Agency). He was an Associate Professor of the Kyushu University, and later a Professor of Ritsumeikan University from 1995 until 2003. He is currently researching (1) environmental policy formulation in Japan, (2) pollution in developing countries, particularly in Asia, and (3) social and environmental impact of official development assistance (ODA).