Liberia: ArcelorMittal Liberia’s Resettlement Program and Its Impact on Affected Communities

Apr 8, 2015 | TLC Africa
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According to the World Bank, involuntary resettlement is a process by which people adversely affected by development projects (physical dislocation, loss of income, or access to resources and other adverse social impacts), are assisted in their efforts to improve, or at least to restore, their incomes and living standards  Given the nature and scope  of its operations in Liberia, ArcelorMittal has been  involved in an active resettlement program  which, operates under World Bank and International Finance Corporation standards. According to Vaani, Kaizolu, a Liberian who heads the Community Liaison Unit of ArcelorMittal, he says the resettlement program has paid out more than USD$7 million dollars in compensation to over 1,000 persons over the last two years.

According to John Howell, ArcelorMittal Liberia’s Environmental Advisor, the need for a resettlement program was predicated by ArcelorMittal’s adherence to international standards and confirmed by the results of the initial environmental and social studies in 2005 and 2008, and again by the two Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) released for review by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2010 for Phase 1 and 2013 for Phase 2.  “The ESIA revealed that communities in proximity to Tokadeh Mountain, where ArcelorMittal Liberia is mining direct shipping ore (DSO), would be affected by the company’s mining activities. To mitigate the losses of land and livelihoods shown by the ESIA, the company formulated a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), which established the guidelines by which it would compensate project-affected communities and individuals,” said Howell.  In addition to the matter of claiming land from farmers, there were other issues that were identified in the studies that required mitigation and intervention, and these were covered through a series of Environmental Management Plans.