Acquiring land or right of way may involve resettlement of local populations and compensation for lost economic uses such as agriculture and other economic and social benefits. Poor resettlement practices have the potential to lead to adverse social outcomes (such as protests) and reputational damage and so need to be managed carefully by the Procuring Authority (irrespective of which party is responsible for the risk of resettlement). Court proceedings, as they relate to poor practices in resettlement, also have the potential to affect access to land.
Resettlement action plans typically require Procuring Authorities to meet both national and lender requirements (such as development bank safeguard requirements). This is a complex topic and the reference tool does not attempt to address the issue in detail.