Just over a decade ago, Shajahan Bepari made a living by farming paddy and jute on a small scale and selling poultry reared on his 0.15-acre land in Shariatpur's Zajira.
But then, the government came calling as plans for the construction of a hitherto elusive bridge over the Padma gained steam.
Shajahan soon parted with his land and a place to call home for a sum that was one and a half times higher than its market value.
When a riverbank subsided and gave way, Tran Van Bi’s house collapsed into a river in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta four years ago. Everything his family had accumulated over 32 years was gone in an instant.
The relocation of individuals, households, or communities from their land or from land they are occupying. Resettlement often results from infrastructure upgrading, large development initiatives, new government land policies, or natural disasters that destroy land. Resettlement can also be driven by government policies dealing with marginalized or minority groups. Resettlement can be either voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary resettlement is accomplished with the free will of the persons to be resettled. Involuntary resettlement occurs without the informed consent of the displaced persons and results in the forced movement of people from their land to other locations. Source: Land Tenure and Property Rights Framework (USAID)