Resettlement, RAPs & Livelihood Restoration

Resettlement & RAP

Projects need to plan their resettlement early enough so that regulatory and lending standards are met before construction starts. HEC plans and implements Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs).

Resettlement is a multi-year process that must be done without inflating stakeholder expectations or encouraging speculative in-migration. Resettlements need to be planned and implemented with sufficient data collection to be able to compare displaced populations’ baseline conditions to their resettlement outcomes at 3 and often 5 years following displacement.

HEC manages all aspects of resettlement, including:

  • Baseline and asset surveys
  • Negotiation of community agreements
  • Compensation and resettlement
  • Livelihood restoration
  • Monitoring and audits
  • Development of associated compliance documents
  • Management of local contractors for related services (eg. engineering, architecture, urban planning, and construction)

HEC manages resettlement both independently and in hybrid teams with site-based staff.

Livelihood Restoration

Projects need to restore livelihoods to pre-project levels.

Livelihood restoration is almost always a required component of resettlement. Projects need to clearly define who is eligible for livelihood restoration as a result of their displacement and for how long. Livelihood restoration programs need to be tailored to the capacity of resettled people, cost-effective, and sustainable.

HEC designs livelihood programs in collaboration with local technical specialists, usually building on the existing livelihoods of eligible participants. Financial and numerical literacy courses accompany livelihood programming, as well as appropriate upskilling programs. Different programming opportunities are normally defined for men and women, or as relevant, for different social groups. This often means, for example, different programs for agriculturalist and pastoralist communities.

HEC also designs programs so that monitoring is feasible and outcomes can be reported. HEC often provides training to local implementing partners on effective monitoring and reporting so that livelihood restoration can be documented in the medium and long term.

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Whether you have questions about our services, need a solution, or want to discuss how we can support your project, we’d love to connect.

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