Social Impact Assessment and Strategic Resettlement Planning

The Western Power Company aims to develop the Ngonye Falls Hydropower Project – a run-of-river hydropower scheme located on the Zambezi River. The Project has undergone a number of design iterations since inception, requiring the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to be updated, and resettlement requirements fundamentally reviewed.

The scope of work was as follows:

• Review the impact area
• Additional stakeholder engagement
• Define the likely scope of resettlement and displacement
• Establish an eligibility framework and associated entitlement matrix
• Investigate livelihood restoration measures that would need to be implemented in line with IFC PS5 Principles of best practice

One form of economic displacement that was highlighted in this study is the loss of two forms of traditional fishing practices undertaken in the Zambezi River, as well as in the inter-island channels, namely Maungwe and Lembelo Fishing. Africawide Consulting was engaged in a further study to determine the impact of the project specifically on fishing practices.

The scope of work of this project was as follows:

• Engage with and register all potential Project Affected People (PAPs) involved in traditional fishing
• Identify and map Maungwe and Lembelo held by individual PAPs and determine ownership or access rights to these areas and scale of operation.
• Quantify the economic livelihood and income derived for each individual PAP from their Maungwe and Lembelo
• Undertake market surveys and analyses to determine fair compensation rates for likely losses of income/livelihoods related to the loss of Maungwe and Lembelo.