Land Acquisition and Land Use Change : A Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change

Land acquisition is met with stiff resistance in most parts of the country, yet there are areas where the resistance will be far less or acquisition may be even welcome. These are the areas that typically see Environment-forced displacement. Development-forced displacement and resettlement (DFDR) leading to impoverishment of the affected population is not uncommon, nor is it uncommon to find efforts to discourage populations from resettling in a destination of choice in the face of deteriorating environmental conditions at the place of origin. In a warmer world, resettlement in response to sea level rise would become virtually unavoidable where adaptive capacities are overwhelmed. This paper contends that land acquisition under such circumstances would enable the affected population to relocate and resettle avoiding impoverishment and displacement under high risk conditions at a later date, and therefore we are likely to witness the reverse hold-up problem in these areas which can only be addressed by the State. In other words, over time, as these areas become more vulnerable, the transaction value starts to decline; holding on to such land is no longer a worthwhile strategy. In order to achieve the goal of successful Environment-forced displacement and resettlement (EFDR), different policy agendas are needed which will be explored in this paper