The analysis of non-economic contributing factors in sustainable development capacity of reservoir migrants: A case study of Three Gorges engineering migration project

With the development of hydropower in China, resettlement of affected population is becoming an increasingly diffcult issue and the sustainable development problem has also become a main problem of hydropower construction in China. Based on the concept of sustainable development capacity, this paper develops a set of framework for non-economic factors and measures these factors through interviewing migrants from the Three Gorges area in three cities of Hubei and Jiangsu province. This paper divides the non-economic contributing factors in sustainable development capacity of reservoir migrants into four aspects, including External Influential Factors, Internal Influential Factors, External Value Factors, and Internal Value Factors. Based on the above framework, the factors of importance and satisfaction in different areas were analyzed using quantitative data analysis. The results showed that the resettlement areas´ environmental resources and infrastructure, cultural integration, cultural identity, people´s network and other factors were given high scores in importance and satisfaction. However, in terms of the social supporting system, the satisfaction score was visibly low. The analysis of our survey data indicates the main reason for this was that the governments are lacking in consent to involve the migrants in the consulting process and the insufficient social support. These results can be used to improve the resettlement process in the future.