Social impacts of a large-dam construction: the case of Castanhão, Brazil

Castanhão Dam, a mega-water-management work in Brazil, was built - according to the official reasoning - to reduce water scarcity and boost the economy. It compulsorily displaced over 10,000 people, whose satisfaction with the new standard of living, a decade after the resettlement, was marginally n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWater international Vol. 44; no. 8; pp. 871 - 885
Main Authors Salinas, Carlos Enrique Tupiño, Oliveira, Vládia Pinto Vidal de, Brito, Liana, Ferreira, André V., de Araújo, José Carlos
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Urbana Routledge 17.11.2019
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Arid regions
Arid zones
Brazil
Citizens
Companies
compulsory displacement
Construction
Dam construction
Dams
Quality of life
Relocation
Resettlement
Satisfaction
Scarcity
Semi arid areas
semi-arid regions
socio-hydrology
Standard of living
Water availability
Water quality
Water resources management
Brazil
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Summary:Castanhão Dam, a mega-water-management work in Brazil, was built - according to the official reasoning - to reduce water scarcity and boost the economy. It compulsorily displaced over 10,000 people, whose satisfaction with the new standard of living, a decade after the resettlement, was marginally negative, contrasting with the pre-construction expectations. The government invested almost exclusively in infrastructure, signaling that their focus was the corporations, not the displaced citizens. Despite the improved water availability, the quality of life did not improve for the directly affected societal groups, indicating that water scarcity is not the main development hindrance in the Brazilian semi-arid region.
ISSN:0250-8060
1941-1707
DOI:10.1080/02508060.2019.1677303