INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY,

ISLAMABAD

Assignment # 1
“Environmental Impacts during surveys, rehabilitation of
displaced people and construction of a dam”
Submitted to:
Ma’am Aafia
Submitted by:
Uswa Zahoor 749-FBAS/BSES/S15
Iqra Perveen 746-FBAS/BSES/S15
Maria Ashfaq 747-FBAS/BSES/S15
Saba Mushtaq 791-FBAS/BSES/S15
Sameen Ayyaz 748-FBAS/BSES/S15
Nabila Kausar 785-FBAS/BSES/S15
BS Environmental Sciences
Date of submission: 19 March,2018

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 Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………...0
2
Impacts of dam
construction………………………………………………02
Problems of displaced
people………………………………………………03
Environmental impacts (in Pakistan’s scenario)
…………………………04
Mangla Dam
project……………………………………………..................04
Impacts………………………………………………………………………04
Alternative benefits to the affected
population……………………………07
Resettlement
measures……………………………………………………...08
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...0
9
References…………………………………………………………………....
11

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Introduction:
There are a lot of problems faced by people during the promotion of any
energy project. Either problems occur during survey of project or during the
construction.
Dams are massive barriers built across rivers and streams to confine and
utilize the flow of water for human purposes such as irrigation and
generation of hydroelectricity. ...? The first known dam was built in 2900 B.C.
across the Nile River to protect the city of Memphis from flooding.
Dams have been a part of the economic development model of almost all
nations of the world. At some stage of their development, most countries
with water resources that can be economically exploited have built dams for
energy, irrigation, and drinking water. Hydropower provides a non-polluting
source of energy that may be generated in increasing amounts for the
growing needs of growing populations. Once built, dams entail relatively low
costs and maintenance compared to the costs associated with other forms of
energy generation.

Environmental issues faced during survey?? (Missing

information)
Problem of Displaced Peoples:
The scale of this problem is enormous. No one can say how many people
have been displaced by dams -- dam builders have not kept count -- and
once displaced, many oustees (as displaced people are called in India)
become politically invisible and disappear into the masses of urban poor and
landless. A conservative estimate of the number of people displaced by
dams in the past fifty years is 50-60 million people. A World Bank study
concluded that worldwide during the current decade million people per year
have been displaced by development programs -- more than the number of
people displaced by war and natural disasters.
The overwhelming majority of these displaced people have been poor and
politically powerless, and a disproportionately large number of them are
members of indigenous communities. In India alone, more than 20 million
people have been displaced in the past four decades and it has been
estimated that as many as 75 percent of these people have not been
rehabilitated. According to Indian government estimates, 40 percent of all
those who have been displaced by dams are adivasis, who represent less
than 6 percent of the Indian population. Similarly, in the Philippines, almost
all large dams have been constructed in areas occupied by the country's

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indigenous people. Worldwide, these "oustees" have, in most cases, been
economically, culturally, and emotionally devastated by relocation.
Numerous case studies have demonstrated that forced displacement tears
apart communities and disperses the fragments, disrupts patterns of social
interaction and interpersonal ties, destabilizes and renders useless integral
reciprocal help networks, and scatters kin and other social groups. This
dismantling of social ties may leave the individual people physically intact, at
least in the short term, but it destroys communities. The result is widespread
anomie, insecurity, and a loss of cultural identity that compounds the loss of
natural and manmade capital. The great majority of people displaced by
dams have statistically disappeared, swallowed up by urban slums and
camps of migrant laborers. (Fisher William F., 1999)
Indigenous groups are more vulnerable than others to the risks discussed
above. Their remote areas of residence are often a last refuge from cultural
assimilation. Evidence suggests that very few indigenous people ever
recover from the economic and psychological disruption caused by
dislocation. Displacement severs what are often strong spiritual and cultural
attachments to land and threaten communal bonds and cultural practices
which hold these societies together.
In April 1997, in Gland, Switzerland, a meeting of 40 representatives from the
dam industry, dam-affected peoples' groups, NGOs, governments, and
academia called for the creation of an international commission on dams. An
independent world commission was formed in February 1998 by two
sponsoring organizations -- the World Bank and the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) -- with a mandate "to review the development effectiveness of
dams and assess alternatives for water resources and energy development"
and "to develop internationally-accepted standards, guidelines, and criteria
for decision-making in the planning, design, construction, monitoring,
operation, and decommissioning of dams."
Overall environmental impacts of dam construction:
The environmental consequences of large dams are numerous and varied,
and includes direct impacts to the biological, chemical and physical
properties of rivers and riparian environments.
One of the first problems with dams is the erosion of land. Dams hold back
the sediment load normally found in a river flow, depriving the downstream
of this. In order to make up for the sediments, the downstream water erodes
its channels and banks. This lowering of the riverbed threatens vegetation
and river wildlife.
As fisheries become an increasingly important source of food supply, more
attention is being paid to the harmful effects of dams on many fish and
marine mammel populations. The vast majority of large dams do not include

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proper bypass systems for these animals, interfering with their lifecycles and
sometimes even forcing species to extinction.
Dam reservoirs in tropical areas, due to their slow-movement, are literally
breeding grounds for mosquitoes, snails, and flies, the vectors that carry
malaria, schistosomiasis, and river blindness.
Nasa geophysicist Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao found evidence that large dams
cause changes to the earth's rotation, because of the shift of water weight
from oceans to reservoirs. Because of the number of dams which have been
built, the Earth's daily rotation has apparently sped up by eight-millionths of
a second since the 1950s. Chao said it is the first time human activity has
been shown to have a measurable effect on the Earth's motion.
Dams have been a part of the economic development model of almost all
nations of the world. At some stage of their development, most countries
with water resources that can be economically exploited have built dams for
energy, irrigation, and drinking water. Hydropower provides a non-polluting
source of energy that may be generated in increasing amounts for the
growing needs of growing populations. Once built, dams entail relatively low
costs and maintenance compared to the costs associated with other forms of
energy generation.
Dams however, are not built without a significant cost. In addition to
substantial adverse impacts on the physical environment, they can disrupt
the lives and lifestyles of people living in the reservoir area and of those
dependent on this area. Even when thorough surveys of people adversely
affected by dams are conducted, which is not always the case, it is not easy
to recognize all the adverse impacts of dam construction on the affected
people. Impacts that are not fully identified are difficult to fully mitigate.
Poorly planned and implemented dams can devastate local socioeconomic
systems without replacing them with comparable and acceptable alternative
systems.
The adverse impacts of dam construction are compounded when the
affected people belong to indigenous groups with a close or special
relationship to the lands on which they live. The land likely to be submerged
behind a dam could be supporting a distinct culture, with a language, and
customs and traditions that are unique to the location.
The first global assessment of the impact of the dams on tribes suggests
more than 300,000 indigenous people could be pushed towards economic
ruin and, in the case of some isolated Brazilian groups, to extinction.
At least 200,000 people from eight tribes are threatened and a further
200,000 people will be adversely affected by the Gibe III dam on the Omo
river in Ethiopia. Ten thousand people in Sarawak, Malaysia, have been
displaced by the Bakundam,which is expected to open next year, and a

5
series of Latin American dams could force many thousands of people off their
land.
Problem of Displaced Peoples:
The scale of this problem is enormous. No one can say how many people
have been displaced by dams -- dam builders have not kept count -- and
once displaced, many oustees (as displaced people are called in India)
become politically invisible and disappear into the masses of urban poor and
landless. A conservative estimate of the number of people displaced by
dams in the past fifty years is 50-60 million people. A World Bank study
concluded that worldwide during the current decade million people per year
have been displaced by development programs -- more than the number of
people displaced by war and natural disasters.
The overwhelming majority of these displaced people have been poor and
politically powerless, and a disproportionately large number of them are
members of indigenous communities. In India alone, more than 20 million
people have been displaced in the past four decades and it has been
estimated that as many as 75 percent of these people have not been
rehabilitated. According to Indian government estimates, 40 percent of all
those who have been displaced by dams are adivasis, who represent less
than 6 percent of the Indian population. Similarly, in the Philippines, almost
all large dams have been constructed in areas occupied by the country's
indigenous people. Worldwide, these "oustees" have, in most cases, been
economically, culturally, and emotionally devastated by relocation.
Numerous case studies have demonstrated that forced displacement tears
apart communities and disperses the fragments, disrupts patterns of social
interaction and interpersonal ties, destabilizes and renders useless integral
reciprocal help networks, and scatters kin and other social groups. This
dismantling of social ties may leave the individual people physically intact, at
least in the short term, but it destroys communities. The result is widespread
anomie, insecurity, and a loss of cultural identity that compounds the loss of
natural and manmade capital. The great majority of people displaced by
dams have statistically disappeared, swallowed up by urban slums and
camps of migrant laborers.
Indigenous groups are more vulnerable than others to the risks discussed
above. Their remote areas of residence are often a last refuge from cultural
assimilation. Evidence suggests that very few indigenous people ever
recover from the economic and psychological disruption caused by
dislocation. Displacement severs what are often strong spiritual and cultural
attachments to land and threaten communal bonds and cultural practices
which hold these societies together.
In April 1997, in Gland, Switzerland, a meeting of 40 representatives from the
dam industry, dam-affected peoples' groups, NGOs, governments, and

6
academia called for the creation of an international commission on dams. An
independent world commission was formed in February 1998 by two
sponsoring organizations -- the World Bank and the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) -- with a mandate "to review the development effectiveness of
dams and assess alternatives for water resources and energy development"
and "to develop internationally-accepted standards, guidelines, and criteria
for decision-making in the planning, design, construction, monitoring,
operation, and decommissioning of dams."
Environmental impacts
(In Pakistan’s scenario)
Mangla Dam Project:
Mangla Dam is located on the Jhelum River at Mangla, Pakistan. The project
is accessible by road and is about 115 kms (72 miles) southeast of
Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan. It is 16 kms (10 miles) north of
Dina town (located on Lahore-Islamabad G.T. Road).
The Project aims to regain the reservoir storage capacity lost to
sedimentation by raising the dam 9.15 m, which will WILL??? affect about
44000 people, 6388 hectares of land, inundation of 8000 houses, economic
values, livestock etc. These impacts were evaluated and are being mitigated
through a Resettlement Action Plan, which includes a highly attractive and
unprecedented compensation package. The main benefits include land/house
compensation at market value and allotment of land for rebuilding houses in
a new city and four towns, which are being developed with most modern
infrastructure and basic amenities. The resettlement cost worked out to be
about US$ 578 million, which is about 60% of the total cost of the project
IMPACT ON POPULATION:
The surveys conducted in affected areas show that about 44,000 persons
residing on periphery of the reservoir upto El: 381 m (1250 ft) will be
affected by the Project. The Sector-Wise Distribution of The Affected
Population Is Given in Table given below

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The above table indicates that nearly half of the affected population belongs
to Mirpur sector.
IMPACT ON HOUSES:
From ground surveys and extracting data from satellite imageries of affected
areas, it is estimated that a total of 8023 houses and other buildings will be
affected by acquisition of land upto (1250 ft). Sector-Wise Inventory of The
Houses and Other Buildings is Tabulated In Table 2.2.

The other buildings in the affected area include cattle houses, shops,
mosques, schools, garages, poultry farms, shrines, factories, dispensaries,
brick kilns and stone crushers.
IMPACT ON LAND:

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 A total of 6387 hectares (15,783 acres) of land is to be acquired between El.
369 m to 381 m (El. 1210 ft. and El. 1250 ft) on the periphery of the
reservoir. The affected land has been broadly divided into three categories;
residential, agricultural and barren. An estimate Of Sector-Wise Distribution
of The Affected Land Is Given in Table 2.3.

The present use of the residential land will be terminated as the dam is
raised. However, owners of the agricultural land will be allowed to cultivate
in their lands when the reservoir recedes especially in the winter months,
when the lake water levels are low. This is a unique, perpetual benefit
allowed to the landowners even after full compensation is paid to them.
VULNERABLE SOCIAL GROUPS:
Among various groups of the affected persons, some of the vulnerable group
of people is also involved in the displacement. These groups are mostly from
the refugees migrated from the Indian held Kashmir who settled mostly on
the land acquired at the time of original construction of Mangla Dam. These
groups who settled on the periphery of the reservoir will need to be
relocated. They are settled in Mirpur area in their own constructed houses,
mostly semi-permanent type.
IMPACT ON WOMEN:
A social survey of women situation was conducted in the Project Area. Main
emphasis of the survey was to determine the current status of the women, to
disseminate the information about the project and to discuss the potential
project impacts on women. The survey results have shown that women are
active in performing not only their traditional domestic role but they also
contribute directly to the acquisition of household income. Two main

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responses pointed out by the women are i) temporary loss of income due to
relocation ii) increase in employment opportunities generated by the Mangla
Dam Raising Project.
Social survey conducted in surrounding area of Mangla dam during ___time of
the project implication, revealed that other than traditional domestic role,
the women performed an important role to the acquisition of household
income. The survey recorded two main responses as impact of the dam
project in the locality., i.e., i) temporary loss of income due to relocation ii)
increase in employment opportunities generated by the Mangla Dam Raising
Project.

IMPACT ON FISHERMEN:
There are about 900 fishermen in Mangla reservoir. The increased capacity
of Mangla reservoir will provide an excellent opportunity and habitat for
enhancing fish breeding and production in the reservoir.
IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE
The terrain and soil conditions in the project area put great constraint to its
use towards agricultural exploitation on a large scale. Most of the area is
mountainous marked with high relief amplitude and steeply dissected with
unstable slopes and is not suitable for sustainable agriculture. Locally,
however, both rainfed and irrigated agriculture is practiced. Limited irrigated
cropping is done on level terraces with open wells and tubewells. Patches of
land on reservoir periphery are cultivated for winter crops with residual
moisture, once the water has receded in low flow season. Wheat and
vegetables are the crops being practiced during this period. However, yields
of these crops are very low. The area inundated by the raised reservoir level
will retain moisture as the reservoir recedes. A better crop yield is therefore
expected in the raised-dam scenario. In addition, the agriculture of the
command area will increase due to increase in availability of water for
irrigation.
ALTERNATIVE BENEFITS TO THE AFFECTED POPULATION

ENTITLEMENT POLICY:
The displacement of population and other related issues due to project
implementation is a major negative impact (problem) that needs to be
properly mitigated. Therefore, as per Pakistan National Resettlement Policy

10
the Project is committed to provide entitlements to the persons who lose
their land or other property. The provisions of laws that apply to such
situations will be followed. These entitlements will be supplemented by
entitlements for affected landless people and by Project activities such as
training and work opportunities in addition to provisions for infrastructure.
These combined Project efforts are intended to meet the resettlement
objectives of rendering the affected people with a standard of living better or
equal to that which they had prior to commencement of the Project.
BENEFITS-ENTITLEMENT PACKAGES:
In determining entitlements, the purpose has been to identify category of
loss rather than category of person affected, as some Entitled Persons (EPs)
will suffer more than one loss. The process of establishing particular
entitlements has involved first establishing the legal rights that pertain and
the legal provisions that will determine the entitlement. However, there are
also pertinent instances where the law does not provide specific entitlements
yet entitlements are warranted. In such cases, an effort has been made to
provide entitlements that are appropriate to the loss and offer favorable
prospects for EPs improving their livelihoods. The work opportunities
provided under the Project consists of priority in Project employment. An
unprecedented and very attractive compensation package for the affectees
approved by Government and being implemented.

COMPENSATION TO OLD AFFECTEES:

In addition to a liberal compensation package for the new affectees, the
dam raising project is redressing the complaints of the old affectees
displaced at the time of original construction of Mangla Dam in 1960’s. Under
a package for the old affectees, over 10,000 families have now been paid
additional cash compensation @ US$ 3500 per family. Redressal of the
complaints of the old affectees has served as a confidence building measure
for the new affectees.
RESETTLEMENT MEASURES:

Permission to CultivateOn Acquired Land:

Water levels in Mangla reservoir are the lowest of the annual cycle in the
month of March and start rising in March-April when snow melt starts in the
Jhelum river basin. Filling of the reservoir is achieved with monsoon rainfall
runoffs in the months of July, August and September. The surplus water
conserved in the summer months is utilized for irrigation of Rabi crops in
winter months. As the reservoir levels would remain low in winter season, it
would be possible even after raising of the dam, to cultivate in winter in the

11
areas acquired upto El: 3.81 m (1250 ft). It has accordingly been agreed in
the compensation package that the previous owners of the cultivated land
will be permitted to cultivate their lands when the reservoir level recedes.

Resettlement Areas:
A resettlement housing development comprising a New City near Mirpur and
four small towns along periphery of the reservoir has been planned in order
to cater for the needs of the displaced families. Figure 3.1 Shows Location
Plan Of New City And Four Small Towns. The major factors being considered
in the development plan of New City and Four Small Towns include: - Project
requirements, - Availability of developable state owned land, - Preferences of
affectees and - Sociological aspects

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CONCLUSIONS
The implementation of the Mangla Dam Raising Project will give rise to some
social and resettlement issues but at the same time will benefit the
community as concluded below:

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 A population of about 44,000 persons is being affected by
implementation of the project.
 8000 houses and other buildings like mosques, schools, cattle
houses, garages, poultry forms, shrines, factories, dispensaries, brick
kilns and stone crushers are being affected due to land acquisition for
the project.
 A total of 6,388 hectares of land is to be acquired including
residential, agriculture and barren land.
 The vulnerable groups of the people consisting of migrants from
Indian held Kashmir living along the periphery of the reservoir will
need to be relocated. These migrants in Mirpur area are settled in
their own constructed houses, mostly semi-permanent type. –
 28 brick kilns, which are playing an important role in the economic
activity of the area will be abandoned. The kiln owners may decide to
relocate the kilns on higher ground. –
 An unprecedented and very attractive compensation package for the
affectees has been provided.
 Previous owners of the cultivated land will be permitted to cultivate
their lands when the reservoir level recedes.
 New City near Mirpur and four small towns along the periphery of the
reservoir are being constructed to resettle the displaced families.
 Bridge over River Jhelum at Dhangali is being constructed.
 Pakistan Resettlement Policy is being followed for the resettlement
and compensation process.
 PAPs are being involved in the monitoring and evaluation work to
improve the performance of the resettlement program.

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 References

 https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/dams-
and-resettlement-development-case-building-good
 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/aug/09/hydroelectric-dams-
tribal-people
 http://www.cbdb.org.br/seminario/belem/T99/A03.PDF

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