âEverything comes from land and ultimately goes back to itâ explains an old Indian saying. All sense of value in an enterprise is rooted in the value of land. From business to warfare, the characteristics of land have the power to determine the ultimate success of the endeavour. From maintaining biodiversity to ensuring prosperity for all, the sound management of land resources is vitally important to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Asian Development Bank notes that more than 400 million Asians still lack electricity; roughly 300 million have no access to safe drinking water, and 1.5 billion lack basic sanitation. In many countries, power outages constrain economic growth. Development of infrastructure is a prerequisite for long-term sustainable economic growth (Yoshino et al. 2018; Banerjee and Duflo 2003; Paul and Sarma 2017). However, more than 8.8% of the GDP is needed to finance infrastructure-related projects in South Asia which are expected to have a spillover on the achievability of the SDGs.
Infrastructure investment needs in Asia and the Pacific (2016â2030)
Baseline total | % of GDP | Climate adjusted | % of GDP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Asia | 33 | 6.8 | 38 | 7.8 |
East Asia | 919 | 4.5 | 1,071 | 5.2 |
South Asia | 365 | 7.6 | 423 | 8.8 |
Southeast Asia | 184 | 5.0 | 210 | 5.7 |
The Pacific | 2.8 | 8.2 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
Asia and the Pacific | 1,504 | 5.1 | 1,745 | 5.9 |
This book begins by questioning the problems faced in the process of gaining access to land for development purposes. One that dominates this narrative the most is that of Land grab without proper compensation. An issue, which is more prevalent in developing as compared to developed countries, is the imperative to study the effect of land grabbing if one is even to attempt to gain insights into solving the land crisis. Throughout this book, we have focussed on doing just that. We begin with an interdisciplinary approach by combining anthropology and economics. This is done to capture not only the outcome but also the process to help reduce the issue further. This approach not merely allows us to understand the direct livelihood impacts better but also provides insights at the complex ways that displaced communitiesâ capacity for coping with displacement intersects with local historical context over different time periods.
We have also included longitudinal studies by analysing short term versus long term to gauge the adverse impact displacement has on people. The use of longitudinal data in social sciences, particularly in economics, is rare. We have put together a novel panel data set based on our field surveys in Nepal and Indonesia. The case studies concluded that the adverse short-term impact on the displacees normalized over the long term, and the long-term effect could be positive if exact state mechanisms, adequate compensation, and inherent adaptability amongst the displacees were in place. The Asian context is diverse not just regarding various economic structures, but also in the many social hierarchies, which at most are rigid. To further understand these hierarchies and the binding nature they have on social relations, we also studied caste and ethnicity and the impact displacement has on them. Complementing it with a study on the cause or willingness of landowners to sell their land has aided us further in pursuing our multidisciplinary approach.
Having focussed on the above exploratory studies in the first half of the book, we concluded that a robust institutional overhaul is needed to facilitate a smooth and peaceful land transfer. We thus propose the Land Trust Method as a policy framework for more inclusive and secure development. The use of third-party guarantors has a benefit of introducing a check and balance system which we found missing in some of our regional experiences. The Japanese Land Trust Method is explored for feasibility and accessibility in India by employing a legal framework and an inter-temporal analysis. Our findings have encouraged us to pursue this method further by adapting the technique to other Asian countries.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I is dedicated to the conceptual foundations of land grab induced displacement. The second chapter provides an overview of long-term welfare effects of displacement using an interdisciplinary approach. The third chapter studies the short-term versus long-term effects of forced displacement.
Part II focuses on the socio-economic issues and its effects post-displacement, showcasing multiple regional accounts from Asia. The fourth chapter shows the long-term effects of conservation-led displacement in Nepal. The fifth chapter studies the attitudes towards land acquisition in Indonesia whereas the sixth chapter looks at the political economy of caste, displacement, and welfare in Nepal. The seventh and eighth chapters throw light on India, particularly the special economic zones and following livelihood changes as well as specific focus on attitudes towards displacement in West Bengal, respectively.
Finally, Part III proposes the Land Trust Method as a feasible solution and studies its adaptability and accessibility using India as a case study. The ninth chapter introduces the Land Trust Method of Japan and how it may assist in smooth land transfer in other Asian regions. The 10th chapter discusses the Methodâs accessibility by employing an inter-temporal analysis and spill-over effect whereas the 11th chapter concludes by studying the adaptability of Land Trust Method in India through the existing land pooling structure and its applicability in diverse and non-homogeneous regions.
Chaptersâ Overview
In Chap. 2, Lam and Paul explore what each discipline of anthropology and economics offers and attempt to identify whether their broken communication can be resolved in particular to the field of displacement studies. Based on the first-hand research regarding the long-term impacts of displacement on local communities, they find that the combination of anthropology and economics offers the most holistic perspective to assess the multi-dimensional effects of displacement because it can capture both the âprocessâ and the âoutcomeâ of displacement. The approach not only allows us to understand the direct livelihood impacts better but also provides insights into the complex ways that displaced communitiesâ capacity for coping with displacement intersects with local historical context over different time periods. They use this interdisciplinary model to study long-term livelihood and welfare consequences of forced displacement in Asia in subsequent chapters.
In Chap. 3, Khatua and Sarma examine the short-term versus long-term effects of displacement. In particular, the study explored development-induced displacement and summarized evidence of its short-term and long-term effects from around the developing world. Evidence in the literature points out to adverse short-term effects among displacees that normalize over the long term. In the long term, however, adaptability among displaced and state mechanisms may help displacees normalize and settle-down especially if adequate compensation policies are sanctioned.
In Chap. 4, Lam, Pant, and Sarma focus on the long-term livelihood effects of displacement using a novel panel data set comprising of households affected and unaffected by the Shuklaphanta National Park Extension Programme in Nepal. This study disentangles the impact of displacement along ethnic lines. The main results illustrate that displaced households diversify their livelihoods and work more to compensate for the loss of traditional livelihood. The evidence indicates that almost all ethnic groups were adversely affected: emotionally, they felt a longing for their original lands and felt a lack of communal spirit. The results also show that it is essential to understand the effect of displacement beyond material well-being and across ethnic groups.
In Chap. 5, Yoshino, Parinduri, and Oishi evaluate the attitudes towards land acquisition in Indonesia. They investigate the relationship between landownersâ willingness to lease land for infrastructure projects and the characteristics of the agricultural land, household head, and village. The investigation of the determinants of leasing provides insights for land planning and the negotiation process. They found landlords are less willing to rent out their land if they self-cultivate the plots, if plots have been obtained through inheritance, if plots have been owned for a longer period of time, if the land area is small (particularly in the case of non-wetlands and plots located in their villages), and if the ask price demanded is higher than current prices. For the better facilitation of land acquisition for infrastructure projects, it would be advisable to take the above factors into account, as it would encourage landowners to accept the proposed compensation.
In Chap. 6, Lam, Pant, and Sarma explore the deep-rooted ethnic/caste divisions in Nepal and the nexus of displacement and ethnic divisions on welfare heterogeneities since displacement. The main results indicate that there is no difference in the effect of displacement across ethnic lines. However, displaced households fared worse than non-displaced h...