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Ted Downing Profile Page
Ted Downing
Online Status OFFLINE
Member Since 10/16/2007
 

Additional Info

Website: www.ted-downing.com (includes projects and writings)
Location: USA
Occupation: Research Professor of Social Development
Company: University of Arizona
City: Tucson
State: Arizona
Zip Code: 85719
Country: USA
Phone #: 1-520-323-8766
Fax #: 1-520-326-3338
Short Statement: Social Geometry Theory and Development-induced Displacement
Regretfully, involuntary resettlement policy and practice has not based on a firm theory of spatial and temporal dislocation. The building blocks for construction of a powerful theory of social dislocation are still scattered about - in the form of bits and pieces of observations, concepts, and insights of practitioners and policy makers. The works of Anthony Oliver-Smith, Thayer Scudder and Chris de Wet provide valuable notions that Carmen Garcia-Downing and I have used to develop the theory of routine and dissonant cultures (see www.ted-downing.com under writings).
Resettlement rips routine relations of social time and social space, laying bare critical, but often ignored dimensions of culture. Frequently, the end result is irreversible social and cultural impoverishment. What is less clear is "why?"
My work argues that involuntary displacement forces people to reexamine primary cultural questions which, under routine circumstances need not be considered. Key among these questions is "where are we?" What I call my theory of social geometry of a people consists of infinite intersections of socially-constructed spaces, socially-constructed times, and socially-constructed personages. And, for many cultures, the geometry also defines "who are we?" Evidence reveals patterns in the way that involuntary displacement disrupts social geometry. Mitigating development-displacement-induced, social impoverishment begins by identifying and then reconstructing, in a culturally appropriate manner, the social geometry of the displaced. F
Displacement Experience: Working on update policy of Asian Development Bank.
Consultant to The World Bank Group - 13 years. Currently a fact-finder for The Inspection Panel of the WOrld Bank and its counterpart, The Independent Review Mechanism of the African Development Bank (Uganda Bujagali II Project and the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) project in Nigeria). Appraisal and supervision, Aguamilpa (Solidaridad) and Zimapan dams 1987-1993; International Panel member, Yacyreta dam 1994; Evaluation 1994; Evaluation of indigenous benefit sharing arrangments at the IFC-sponsored, Pangue Dam, 1995-96. Monitoring of impact of involuntary resettlement on the Pehuenche Indians, Ralco dam 2000-present. In 2008, I investigated the resettlement components of two requests (complaints) filed by civil society with The Inspection Panel of The World Bank (www.inspectionpanel.org) in Nigeria (the West Africa Gas Pipeline) and in Uganda (the Bujagali dam). Linkages to these two reports are www.ted-downing.com under projects.
Publications: Mitigating social impoverishment when people are involuntarily displaced.

See all publications at www.ted-downing.com under the heading "Writings"
Accomplishments: President, International - Society of Applied Anthropology, 1985-1987. Chair, International Network on Displacement and Resettlement.
Highest Degree: Ph.D. Stanford 1973

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The Economics of Involuntary Resettlement: International Conference in India

An important  International Conference on Population Displacement and Resettlement by development projects  will take place on  April 10-12, 2012 at the Xavier Institute of Management in Bhubaneswar (XIMB), Odisha,  India. The conference is jointly organized by the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, the XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

XIMB, the lead organizing institution and the conference’s host, is one of India’s most eminent high education institutions in the area of management sciences. Private sector industries and the public sector recruit many managers and civil servants from among XIMB graduates. The Conference is prepared by a group of XIMB faculty, led by Professor Latha Ravindran, who was the first to introduce a training course on development-caused population resettlement in XIMB, one of few Universities in India that offer graduate training in this domain.

The Conference seeks to examine the theoretical, legal, financial and policy  issues intrinsic to development-caused displacement. Its Keynote Address will be given by Professor Michael M. Cernea, NR Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, and former Senior Adviser of the World Bank on Social Policies and Sociology. Among participants are both Indian and international scholars, researchers, students, and practitioners.

The risks and actual adverse impacts of development-induced resettlement on local people have been widely researched, but the capacity to deal with these issues is still largely lacking. Though there have been recent trends in training programs and university courses focusing on these issues, the need for effective and knowledgeable experts to assist in the resettlement process more crucial now than ever.

The conference will be an opportunity for researchers, project proponents, managers of R&R projects, professionals from civil society organizations and policy makers to deliberate, debate and identify possible solutions for critical unsolved issues pertaining to involuntary displacement, resettlement and rehabilitation on account of development projects.

 Towards this goal,  the organizers selected the following main topics for the sessions of the conference on Theoretical Perspectives, Legal & Policy Issues on Development-Induced    Displacement and Rehabilitation, 2.   Critical issues in Land Acquisition and Forced Displacement,3.  The Economics, Financing, and Planning for R&R,4.  Management of Impoverishment Risks under Urban  Displacement

Odisha is one of India’s  richest states in underground resources (iron, coal, rare metals etc.), but also one of its least developed, and has a high percentage of tribal groups amongst its population.  Many big  private sector corporations, national and transnational, are currently developing large scale projects  in Odisha in the extractive and processing industries in order to bring these resources into the industrial and economic circuit. Such developments, however, entail the need of large aggregate population displacements and relocations.  This has vastly increased the interest of the State Government and population in the issues of Development-caused  Forced  Displacement and Resettlement (DFDR). Odisha is one of India's states which has adopted its own State Policy for DFDR processes. 

Researchers from India  and abroad interested in attending this Conference may contact: 

Ms. Reena Ravichander

Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar-751013, Odisha, India

Phone: +91-674-3983811 (D), 3012345 (30 lines); Mobile: +91-9437010686

Fax: +91-674- 2300995; Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

    Submitted by Joanna London

                                                                                          

 

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