Large Dams and Forced Displacement

In 2000, the World Commission on Dams presented its final report. Despite having the participation of governments, organizations for affected peoples, and hundreds of experts, the Commission acknowledged its inability to specify the number of displaced persons but ended up estimating that between 40 and 80 million people had been evicted from their homes and lands. In other words, no one even remotely knows the exact number.

This human suffering has gone unseen, silenced by the consensus that has too often justified destructive water policies in the name of progress. In many cases, the population was not even consulted. Their losses have rarely been compensated. Resettlement camps have extremely poor living conditions (overcrowding, lack of potable water, electricity, human services…), the soils are poor and fishing has disappeared. The resulting social and cultural impacts increase these communities’ vulnerability, especially in the case of indigenous communities. This situation generates extreme poverty, hunger and poor sanitation for affected peoples.