The development effectiveness of environmental and social impact assessments in large dam projects : a case study of Mohale Dam.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2010-03-01T06:34:19Z
Authors
Reilly, Tandi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is a process that identifies, predicts and
evaluates the potential consequences of proposed development projects. This is in order to improve
project decisions and mitigate adverse environmental and social impacts. Although ESIA may be an
important step towards mitigating the negative environmental and social impacts of development,
ESIA is not a technocratic tool free from subjectivities. Instead, it is embedded in a broader political
context that is shaped by dominant development ideologies and values.
This dissertation explores the ‘development effectiveness’ of ESIAs in large dam projects using the
WCD analytical approach. This approach builds on a rights-and-risks based approach to
understanding the ‘development effectiveness’ of a large dam project. The concept of ‘development
effectiveness’ is however a subjective one (WCD, 2000). As such, the ‘development effectiveness’ of
an ESIA must be evaluated by the stakeholders of a project. In this research report this is undertaken
by evaluating the experiences of those affected by the construction of Mohale Dam in the Kingdom
of Lesotho.
In order to evaluate the experiences of those affected by the construction of Mohale Dam, the
research conducted a total of 38 in-depth interviews. These in-depth interviews took place with 15
key informants who had expert knowledge in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, ESIAs and the
social impacts of large dams. Added to this a total of 23 in-depth interviews were undertaken with
households directly affected by the construction of Mohale Dam. A majority of these households
were resettled (65%), while the other households (35%) remained in the Project Area but were given
monetary compensation. The interviewed households were randomly selected from three directly
affected villages, two of which were host villages. The villages were purposefully selected to
represent the geographical distribution of affected households. The selected villages comprised Ha
Mohale in the Highlands, Ha Nazareth in the Foothills and Ha Thaba Bosiu in the Lowlands. Ha
Nazareth and Ha Thaba Bosiu comprised the host villages.
These findings show that the Mohale ESIA was not informed by the local context but rather by
definitions of development that prioritised money, individualism and single, instead of multiple
livelihood strategies. As such the Mohale ESIA ignored the cultural and social context within which
the dam was being constructed. This created a situation whereby some of the mitigation measures
were culturally and socially inappropriate. Thus the ‘development effectiveness’ of the Mohale ESIA
was directly compromised by the outcomes of some of the culturally inappropriate mitigation
measures.