Citation

Arnall A, Thomas DSG, Twyman C, Liverman D. Disasters 2013; 37(3): 468-488.

Affiliation

Lecturer in Agriculture and Development at the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom Professor of Geography at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, United Kingdom Senior Lecture in Geography at the Department of Geography and the Sheffield Institute for International Development, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom Regents Professor in the School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, United States, and Visiting Professor of Environment and Development at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/disa.12003

PMID

23551336

Abstract

Post-disaster development policies, such as resettlement, can have major impacts on communities. This paper examines how and why people's livelihoods change as a result of resettlement, and relocated people's views of such changes, in the context of natural disasters. It presents two historically-grounded, comparative case studies of post-flood resettlement in rural Mozambique. The studies demonstrate a movement away from rain-fed subsistence agriculture towards commercial agriculture and non-agricultural activities. The ability to secure a viable livelihood was a key determinant of whether resettlers remained in their new locations or returned to the river valleys despite the risks posed by floods. The findings suggest that more research is required to understand i) why resettlers choose to stay in or abandon designated resettlement areas, ii) what is meant by 'voluntary' and 'involuntary' resettlement in the realm of post-disaster reconstruction, and iii) the policy drivers of resettlement in developing countries.

Language: en