Knowledge resources

A resettlement action plan (RAP) is the document that sets out who a project affects, what they lose, what they are entitled to, where they will move, how their livelihoods will be restored, who is responsible, when, and at what cost.

The project owner prepares it. The provincial resettlement committee approves it before compensation and relocation begin. When the project boundary, the number of households or the schedule changes, the plan is updated.

The cut-off date is the date after which people who move into the project area, and assets built or planted there, are not eligible for compensation.

It is set from the census and asset survey, endorsed by the authorities and announced in each village. It protects the people recorded in the survey and prevents claims made only to obtain compensation.

DBH is diameter at breast height: the diameter of a tree trunk measured 1.3 m above the ground. Asset surveys use it to class trees by size.

1. Stand on the uphill side of the tree and mark the trunk 1.3 m above the ground.
2. Wrap a tape around the trunk at the mark, level and snug, and read the circumference.
3. Divide the circumference by 3.14 to get the diameter. A diameter tape gives it directly.
4. If the trunk forks below 1.3 m, measure each stem as a separate tree. If there is a swelling or buttress at 1.3 m, measure just above it.
5. Record the species, DBH and owner on the survey form, and photograph the tree.

Some guidelines use 1.37 m. Use the height stated in the project's survey method, and use the same one for every tree.

The asset survey records everything a household will lose. A team from the project, the district and the village authority visits each plot with the owner.

Land is measured plot by plot and classed by use. Houses and structures are measured and classed by material. Trees are counted by species and size, and crops by area. Each asset is photographed and located by GPS.

The owners, husband and wife, check the record and sign it, and the village head countersigns. The signed records together form the loss of assets register.

An entitlement matrix is a table that lists each type of loss, who is eligible, and what they receive: compensation in cash or in kind, a replacement house or land, allowances and livelihood support.

It is the reference for every compensation agreement, so two households with the same loss receive the same treatment.

A grievance mechanism gives affected people a way to raise a complaint and receive an answer within a set time, at no cost to them.

A complaint is heard first in the village. If it is not resolved there it goes to the district and then the province, and the person can still go to court. Each complaint is written in a register with its date, the decision and the reply.