For a dam to contribute successfully to the sustainable development of society, local people must also benefit. And since the livelihoods of people in rural societies depend on land, proper land tenure is key to ensuring dams bring benefits for all.
A new animation, produced by the Global Water Initiative (GWI) West Africa, unpicks the challenges around getting fair compensation for affected people and sets out the various stages to ensure that expropriated farmers can securely invest and develop their new land after the dam’s construction.
For governments, this may mean drawing up new policies and governance tools to use when building dams and irrigation schemes.
The five-minute video, entitled Securing the land rights of people affected by dams in West Africa, is part of the GWI action-research and advocacy project implemented by IIED and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Watch below:
The Global Water Initiative in West Africa is an action-research and advocacy project. It works with family farmers and governments to shape policies and practices that support livelihoods and food security in the context of large multi-purpose dams. The project is funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and implemented by IIED and IUCN.