CDSSEA 23 Gender and Forced Resettlement of an Ethnic Minority Group: The Song Bung 4 Hydropower Project (SB4HP) in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam

CDSSEA 23 Gender and Forced Resettlement of an Ethnic Minority Group: The Song Bung 4 Hydropower Project (SB4HP) in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam Author: Phan Thi Ngoc Thuy This study analyzes the gender dimension of involuntary resettlement for an ethnic minority community in the SB4HP area. This research provides a detailed analysis of the gender impact of hydropower plant construction, and hopes to contribute empirically to the ongoing discourse on hydropower development in the Greater Mekong region. Through the “Livelisystems” approach of Andrew Dorward, this research attempts to understand the processes of change in socio– ecological systems brought by resettlement of the Co Tu ethnic minority group. Displaced people are under tremendous stress due to loss of traditional livelihood, lack of acceptable livelihood alternatives, and inexperienced cash compensation management. Resettled near majority ethnic Kinh Vietnamese, the Co Tu people have converted their traditional culture gradually into Kinh practice. This sparks the question of the linkage between unsustainable livelihood, cultural transformation and gender relations.