Neema S, Mongo Bua G, Tuhebwe D, Ssentongo J, Tumuhamye N, Mayega RW, Fishkin J, Atuyambe LM, Bazeyo W. Community Perspective on Policy Options for Resettlement Management: A Case Study of Risk Reduction in Bududa, Eastern Uganda.
PLoS Curr 2018;
10. [PMID:
30191081 PMCID:
PMC6100022 DOI:
10.1371/currents.dis.49e8e547de25ca1c1f9edbbfc8b9efa5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Despite existing policy actions on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR),
many community members in Bududa still continue to settle in high-risk areas
re-zoned for nonsettlement. There seems to be an apparent information asymmetry
on expectations between the community and Government. The challenge then is
‘how to consult communities and seek their opinion in an
adequately representative unbiased way’. This paper sets
out to explore policy options on resettlement management as a DRR approach and
how engaging with communities in a public discourse using the Deliberative
Polling (DP) approach; to obtain their opinions and insights on these policy
issues, revealed underlying challenges to policy implementation.
Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Bududa in eastern Uganda with
fourteen group discussions; comprising 12-15 randomly assigned participants of
mixed socio-economic variables. Trained research assistants and moderators
collected data. All discussions were audio taped, transcribed verbatim before
analysis. Data were analyzed using latent content analysis by identifying codes
from which sub-themes were generated and grouped into main themes on policy
options for resettlement management.
Results and Discussion: We used Deliberative Polling, an innovative approach to
public policy consultation and found that although the community is in agreement
with most government policy options under resettlement management, they lacked
an understanding of the rationale underlying these policy options leading to
challenges in implementation. The community members seemed uncertain and had
mistrust in government’s ability to implement the policies especially on
issues of compensation for land lost.
Key Words: Policy, Deliberative Polling, Climate change, risk-reduction,
landslides, Uganda
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