Towards a social impact model of dam projects: an analysis of compensation for local residents in the planned site over project cancellation

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This study aimed at conceptualizing a social impact model of dam projects, drawing upon the works in post-war Japan. A social impact analysis of dam construction can be used not just in cases when dam projects have been completed, but also when they have been cancelled. Notwithstanding its wider public concern, the latter has not attracted due academic attention. Therefore, I selected two cases of cancelled dam projects, namely those in Chubu and in Ogawa, to analyze their social impact.My findings illustrate that those dam projects have caused some adverse impacts on local residents, the severest of which is deprivatiton of their lifetime. By this token, I have identified five elements that are central to establishing a social impact model of dam projects. They are (1) the localities surrounding the planned sites, (2) the re-establishment of livelihood, (3) the development of reservoir areas, (4) the reconsideration of projects, and (5) the cancellation of projects.