The influence of the social dimension in planned relocation outcomes

Disaster response activities are generally well funded but do little to break communities out of disaster cycles. Actions that reduce exposure or vulnerability to hazards are particularly needed across the Asia-Pacific region where countries swing between pre and post disaster phases of the disaster cycle with a worrying regularity. These cycles make it hard for populations to save, to acquire insurance, and reduce opportunities to move above poverty thresholds. Instead communities living in hazard prone locations are forced into distress sales of assets or are pushed from being in the near-poor to extreme poor when a disaster hits. This paper deals with the question of how to conceptualise relocation in a way that will prevent impoverishment risks usually associated with development induced displacement. It suggests that relocation efforts will be most successful where implementing agencies accurately conceptualise and respond to the social dimension of involuntary resettlement. With a better understanding of the social dimension, hazard prone communities could reduce disaster risk through planned relocation without experiencing impoverishment.