Compensation scheme delights settlers

KUNMING - Although it is winter, the residents of Jiuhe village in Lijiang, Yunnan, are warm and cosy. Chic white courtyards are neatly arranged, every building has solar panels sending hot water to each house. In the village, old Lisu ethnic people sit together along the clean cement road, drinking a little wine and playing cards at a leisurely pace.

The residents used to live on a steep cliff and had to walk 10 kilometers to fetch drinking water. Now they have taps in their homes, a supply of biogas for cooking and electricity.

The new village is near No 214 national highway, which is only 17 kilometers from Jianchuan city. It is very convenient for urban jobs and selling agricultural products. The settlers receive hundreds of yuan a month from the local government toward their costs of living.

Zhu Haiqing, a Lisu, is a busy man these days. He drives his Hyundai car on business every day, trading fruit. He also runs a restaurant and a karaoke bar. When you mention the local power station, he smiles from ear to ear.

Before the construction of Jinsha Hydropower station, Zhu Haiqing had more than 10 acres of timber forest, four acres of fields, two fish ponds and a house. In 2007, he was compensated for the loss of his land, which was close to the proposed power station, and used the money to build a house with more than 30 rooms. Four or five of the rooms are used by him and his family; the rest are rented out for 1,000 yuan ($159) each a month.

"Our old village was so poor," he said. "Since the hydroelectric power station was built our lives have completely changed. The company built roads in the village, introduced tap water and built a kindergarten and primary school. Ethnic Lisu villagers are now even learning to speak Putonghua."

Yunnan Jinsha River Hydropower Co, part of the Huadian Group, cooperated with the Yunnan government and the Immigration Bureau of Yunnan in developing and implementing a new model for the resettlement of farmers as a result of the building of the hydropower station.

Rather than the traditional one-off payment, an extended scheme was developed that involved more than money and made the recipients more economically productive.

Yang Yonghong, the leader of the Jiuhe settlers, said the infrastructure and facilities were a great improvement on what people were used to.

Homes were the first great change. The old village was located on the slopes of steep cliffs in valleys alongside the Jinsha River that were sweltering in summer. Now, each household enjoys a 160 to 240 square meter brick courtyard house.

Zhu Zhandong, a Lisu from Jiuhe village, Yulong county, said: "We used to live in stone houses before. Now, every house in the settlement is a brick or concrete building. Now sanitary conditions are better, we have decent roads, a hospital and schools conveniently at hand."

Zhu said there are three people in his family. "My wife and I work and our son is at university in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province. Since we moved here in 2009, we have received hundreds of yuan from the local government as a subsidy every month."

Zhu said that employment opportunities also increased after the move. Before, many ethnic people used to waste their days drinking liquor. Now most of them are in work, some at the hydropower station, some engaged in agriculture nearby.

"We get along very well with the neighboring village of the Bai ethnic people," Zhu said. "There is a vegetable farm in my yard, from which I could get hundreds of yuan each month. I also want to engage in greenhouse vegetable cultivation in the future."

The innovative resettlement compensation model is being copied by other hydropower stations in Yunnan. Yunnan Jinsha River Hydropower Co describes it as playing a positive role in active social responsibility efforts to promote the development.

Li Qingkui, Party secretary of Huadian Corp, said the process of hydropower development and resettlement is a long-term commitment to fulfill its social responsibility and promote shared values. "As a researcher and practitioner of this policy, we will continue to constantly improve what we do and make a positive contribution to social harmony and stability."

China Daily

(China Daily 02/06/2012 page22)