DISCUSSION OF RESETTLEMENT COST EXTERNALIZATION OF WATER RESOURCES AND HYDROPOWER PROJECTS

The construction of water resources and hydropower projects will inevitably give rise to a large number of reservoir resettlement. Pursuant to the prevailing Preparation Method and Calculation Standard of Design Estimate for Hydropower Projects, some resettlement costs have been externalized. Thus, the conclusions from project financial evaluation might be "distorted", making it difficult for decision-makers to make the right decision on project feasibility; on the other hand, the resettlement compensation level is low, imposing the economic and social costs incurred by construction on the migrants unfairly and leading to poverty. This article discusses the composition of resettlement costs of water resources and hydropower projects, and analyzes the externalized resettlement costs, including those not included in the prevailing cost standard for reservoir resettlement and those entirely excluded.