Development-induced Displacement and Sustainable Development: The Case Study of Slezská Harta Dam in the Czech Republic

The main aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the issue of development-induced displacement in the context of sustainable development. We examine causes and spatial distribution of development-induced displacement and its impacts on social and economic situation of displaced persons (displacees) and affected communities. We focus on the issue also in the context of political and societal transformation in the Czech Republic (and Czechoslovakia before 1989). The discussion will rely both on a literature review and on a case study analysing the development-induced displacement linked to the construction of dam Slezská Harta in the Czech Republic in late 1980s and early 1990s. An analysis of available documents and other written sources (e.g. chronicles of villages) and semi-structured in-depth interviews with displacees and other affected people were carried out. Adverse processes, which ultimately lead to the deterioration of living standards of displaced people, often accompany development-induced displacement. The case of the displacement caused by the construction of Slezská Harta dam is not the exception, although the impact on the displaced persons must be perceived individually. Negative consequences of development-induced displacement could be mitigated by using the principle of sustainable development during planning and the implementation of a development project.