Mapping Anti-Dam Movements: The Politics of Water Reservoir Construction and Hydropower Development Projects in the Philippines

Abstract

Issues surrounding water reservoir construction and hydropower development in the Philippines provide glimpses of the marginalization of indigenous peoples (IPs). For the sake of “development,” state-sponsored mega dam projects encroach ancestral lands and ultimately threaten IPs’ existence. Hence, while Filipinos from highly urbanized cities recognize the need to increase the country’s water supply and electricity generation, such infrastructure projects are always met with resistance. Using the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) database, this paper mapped the mega dam projects in the Philippines that denied or will potentially deny IPs’ rights over water resources and sustainable livelihood. At the same time, it identified several resistance movements against these projects and examined the factors that contributed to their outcomes. Particular attention was given to the actors involved in various dam-related conflicts, as their relationship and actions are deemed crucial in understanding the consistent denial of IPs’ voice in political processes. The research confirmed the findings of several case studies that tell the rampant violations of the “Freedom, Prior, and Informed Consent” (FPIC) policy across the country. It also found that influential members and supporters of anti-dam movements are commonly “red-tagged” by the government—a state practice that legitimizes the surveillance, harassment, or murder of members or supporters of progressive organizations. Through the mapping of the anti-dam movements, the paper exhibited the state’s disconcerting interpretation of the “common good,” as the Manila-centric or urban-centric interpretation of such phrase invariably causes the IPs’ marginalization.