Assessing the Social Impact of Development Projects: Experience in India and Other Asian Countries

The aims of this book include discussing the complex relationships among physical landscapes, natural resources, and their modification by human land use in various Asian environments. Moreover, the book explores, through innovative research perspectives, a way to mitigate the impacts of the development process that cause hardships such as people’s loss of lands, livelihoods, homes and communities.

This book is an initiative of the Council for Social Development (CSD). CSD helps to explain what social impact assessment (SIA) is all about, and the SIA methodologies to anticipate and alleviate human costs in the development process.

SIA was developed to anticipate and mitigate negative social consequences of building dams, power stations, urban transport systems, highways, industries, and mining and other development projects. SIA helps planners to formulate plans that help avoid or at least minimize the harmful impacts on people. Furthermore, SIA provides information on social and cultural factors that need to be taken into account in any planning decision.

The book explores some recent experiences with SIA in India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These examples include social impact assessment from projects in different development sectors, such as dams, urban development, mining and transport.

Many social difficulties are addressed in the book. Chapter 7 explains how displacement situations affect women; and Chapter 8 suggests guidelines for SIA in the case of tribal culture displacement. Tribal people are commonly affected by development projects as the areas they live in are generally rich in natural resources, which forces people to be relocated to different environments.

This publication is a useful resource for governments, multilateral development agencies, policymakers, development planners, practitioners, researchers, trainers, environmentalists, social scientists, consultants, academic activists and others who are increasingly beginning to see SIA as a tool for planning better development.

Book note prepared by Lina María Rosales