International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) Special Symposium on Resettlement & Livelihoods

Oct 20, 2014 | International Association for Impact Assessment
Kruger National Park, South Africa

It is our pleasure to share with you this First Announcement of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) Special Symposium on Resettlement & Livelihoods, to be held 20-24 October 2014 in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

The program committee is delighted with the calibre of, and cross-sectoral perspectives offered by, the invitation-only presenters and panel members. The list of confirmed speakers is attached, and is also downloadable under the ‘Program’ page of the symposium website http://iaia.org/conferences/iaia_resettlement/index.php

The symposium – aimed at practitioners from industry, government, civil society and consultancy – is taking place as, across the world, land access for public and private sector projects often causes significant physical and economic displacement of communities. Resettlement is typically fraught with challenges, risks and controversy. Poorly undertaken resettlement can result in a number of impoverishment risks, like landlessness, marginalisation, food insecurity and social disarticulation.

The symposium will improve understanding of land access and resettlement issues, share lessons learned and discuss opportunities to improve performance. Symposium topics include:

• Government and private sector-led resettlements
• Livelihood restoration and improvement
• Integrated planning, assessment and monitoring
• Security of land tenure
• Alignment between international standards, corporate policies and national legislation
• Engagement and community relations
• Negotiation and consultation
• Project-related employment and procurement opportunities
• In-migration
• Culturally appropriate resettlement housing
• International and regional case studies