Social Safeguards: Avoiding the Unintended Impacts of Development

Large-scale development projects oftentimes end up creating negative impacts that affect vulnerable populations with particular intensity. Projects likely to displace families from their homes, degrade the living conditions of indigenous peoples or intensify social conflicts at local levels are not uncommon. Social safeguards are intended to prevent these and other unintended impacts, and when the impacts cannot be averted, to develop appropriate measures to mitigate them. However, the practical implementation of social safeguards is plagued with a series of structural problems. The collection of stories from the field presented in this book illustrates the principles and application of social safeguards in the context of projects funded by multilateral banks, identifying key challenges in their implementation and exploring paths to overcome those limitations.

Specific areas where readers will develop greater knowledge and awareness include:

- Reasons why social safeguards exist and their overarching goals
- The top ten limitations to the preparation of social impact assessments
- Operational challenges of involuntary resettlement and economic displacement
- Current procedures to prevent negative impacts on indigenous peoples
- How to promote authentic participatory processes in consultation mechanisms
- How to increase the social sustainability standards of economic development

"An important, engaging, and thoroughly original book ... Social Safeguards demands that we pay attention to the negative impacts of development projects, that we listen to those being harmed, and that we find ways to ensure that the benefits of development are shared equally."--David Vine, university professor and author of Island of Shame

"Could you imagine what may happen to you and your family if you were forced to leave your home because of a development project? This is a recommended reading about the challenges, pitfalls and lessons from the evolving relationship between big infrastructure projects and local communities."--Lidia Reboucas, Sr Social Specialist, ERM Brazil

“A book that should be read by all of us in the development industry. It illustrates in simple, highly accessible language why we have social safeguards … to insure that the least among us have the opportunity to participate in the development process”--William Partridge, consultant in international development and former lead anthropologist with the World Bank