Immigration and Development During the Construction of Large Hydropower Stations in High Mountain Gorge Areas of Yunnan Province: Case of the Hydropower Stations of Manwan & Dachaoshan

Annotation:::: The paper focuses on studies of land resources and resettlement of mountain migrants, and aims to draw on the experiences and lessons from the resettlement of mountain migrants in the process of constructing two hydropower stations in Manwan and Dachaoshan. Most of the hydropower stations of Yunnan are constructed in the high-mountain gorge areas that lack access to transportation, have less developed communication and feature an agriculture-based economy where local mountain residents live below the poverty line. In order to alleviate poverty among those people and for development of natural resources in the area, the government decided to build large hydropower stations.Drawing on methods of documental study and field research, the paper states that there are several things the government should do if it wants to build large-scale hydropower stations in high-mountain gorge areas and initiate development-oriented resettlement of mountain migrants. For example, migrant resettlement must be combined with local economic and social development, and migrants should be relocated outside of their original dwelling place to develop an agriculture-based economy. Compensation for losses incurred by mountain migrants must be combined with local development and support. Furthermore, the resettlement place for migrants must be chosen correctly, and land for migrants must be reasonably identified so that they can establish a new production base. A complete set of living, production, and infrastructural facilities for new immigrants must be planned and constructed, and technical support must be provided to new immigrants so that they can be engaged in agricultural production. Additionally, migrants must be assisted in developing and protect the local eco-environment. Finally, a unified and effective management system for migrants has to be established so that migration work can be conducted according to the law. The paper is a research project supported by the National Natural Science Funds numbered 40161010.