Causes of poverty - the case of the indigenous resettlers due to the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Laos

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26550108
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental policy and social systems
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Sakamoto Maiko 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 准教授 (50431474)
• Research Collaborator: ANDO Saki ; Bounsouk Souksavath ; Keophousone Phonhalath ; Phetnakhone Xaixongdeth
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 援助・地域協力 / 貧困削減 / 資源環境管理 / 住民移転 / 国際研究者交流（ラオス）

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Nam Theun 2 Dam was constructed in Laos, and the ethnic minority groups in 17 villages had to be relocated. The research aimed to conduct the questionnaire survey for all of the 1000 resettled households and evaluate the impact of the livelihood reconstruction program. After the consultation with the project authorities, the study case was changed to Theun Hinboun Expansion Project which had the similar setups as the Nam Theun 2 Dam project. The questionnaire survey was conducted for 483 ethnic minority households who resettled from 11 villages. Subjective well-being (SWB) index was constructed with Structure Equation Modeling, and SWB of each resettled household was measured. With the application of Multi-level Analysis, it was revealed that SWB had similarity within the members of the previous villages rather than ethnic groups. It was also revealed that SWB was correlated with income, specific livelihoods, subjective health, and social capital.

Free Research Field

土木計画学