Principles for climate-related resettlement of informal settlements in less developed nations: a review of resettlement literature and institutional guidelines

The severity of climatic changes threatening urban coastal areas is introducing and intensifying environmental hazards that are endangering physical safety and livelihood security. This paper considers retreat, one of three broad adaptation options proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as a possible climate change adaptation strategy for low-income communities in less developed nations. Resettlement as climate change adaptation is a developing concept, with minimal guidelines and academic literature on the topic. Thus, this review expands beyond climate change, considering three literature themes surrounding resettlement: (1) climate change, (2) hazard and natural disasters (i.e. floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes), and (3) economic development (i.e. dam construction and natural resource extraction). The review extracts successful resettlement planning and approaches, as well as the lessons learned, to identify five principles for resettlement in a climate change context: Proactivity, Communication and Participation, Permanence, Compensation, and Livelihood Protection. The results of the analysis suggest five principles that can be used as a guideline for implementing resettlement as climate change adaptation for low-income and informal communities in less developed nations. Ultimately, these recommendations can be used to assess the appropriateness and feasibility of employing resettlement as managed retreat in less developed nations.