Complexities of Resettlement and Livelihood Restoration
Complexities of Resettlement and Livelihood Restoration
Leverage global expertise to identify and address the key challenges that can undermine successful resettlement projects. Learn from experienced trainers and peers to develop practical strategies for navigating complex decisions, restoring livelihoods, and improving outcomes for affected communities.
- Presented by: Liz Wall (Australia) and Amy Sexton (Australia)
- Course level: Advanced
- Language of delivery: English
- Prerequisites: Participants would ideally have (1) at least 2 years of direct experience designing, implementing or auditing resettlement and/or livelihood restoration activities; (2) a university degree; and (3) familiarity with the IFC Performance Standards or similar.
- Homework between sessions: None
- Logistics: This course takes place live over Zoom in multiple segments. Course times are listed in UTC; make sure to check that the time of this course works for you in your time zone.
Resettlement projects are inherently complex, requiring difficult trade-offs and decisions to balance competing objectives. This advanced IAIA course focuses on the most challenging aspects of resettlement—such as managing physical versus economic displacement, applying a human rights lens, mitigating delays, and restoring livelihoods when original options are no longer viable.
Rather than covering the basics, the course targets the issues practitioners consistently identify as most complex. Through case studies, workshops, and collaborative discussions, participants will work through real-world dilemmas while drawing on peer experiences and the trainers’ extensive expertise.
Led by Liz Wall (Shared Resources) and Amy Sexton (Sexton Consulting), who together have over 40 years of global experience, the course builds on more than 25 IAIA resettlement trainings. The trainers bring deep knowledge of IFC Performance Standard 5, EBRD Environmental and Social Requirement 5, and other IFI standards, creating a practical, knowledge-sharing platform for resettlement professionals worldwide.
Liz Wall is an independent consultant with more than 20 years of global experience assessing and addressing social impacts associated with large projects in developing countries, almost all of which have generated some level of resettlement. As a former IFC social specialist she is an expert in the implementation of the IFC Performance Standards and has worked in over 40 countries. She has extensive resettlement experience in a wide range of contexts and countries ranging from mine sites to waste landfill facilities.
A New Zealander by birth, Liz has lived and worked in four continents and is devoted to helping communities in developing countries experience the positive benefits and minimize the adverse impacts of natural resource sector led development. She believes that development requires a comprehension of the social, environmental and economic factors at play in every project. Liz’s multi-disciplinary background helps her understand and balance each of these dimensions, drawing on her Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering, Master of Philosophy in Development Studies and Master of Science of Environmental Change and Management and her current studies to complete her PhD.
Amy Sexton is an internationally experienced social performance specialist with over two decades of work across the mining, infrastructure, and renewable energy sectors. She brings a multidisciplinary background in environmental engineering and international and community development, applying this lens to challenging projects to help deliver better social outcomes for communities. Amy is recognised for her practical experience in supporting clients to align with international lender standards and social safeguards including those of IFC, EBRD, ADB and EPFIs.
She has worked on the planning, implementation support, auditing and monitoring of project social commitments, on major projects in complex contexts across Central Asia, Asia-Pacific, East Africa, and Europe. Amy frequently serves as the sole social specialist on Independent Environmental and Social Consultant (IESC) teams advising Lenders on project social performance, frequently where major projects involve resettlement or livelihoods impacts. Amy thrives in cross-cultural contexts, offering both technical insight and grounded, people-centred approaches. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and a former Co-chair of the Social Practice Forum (SPF). Based in Norway, she consults through Sexton Consulting.
IAIA Members: USD$480 // Non-Members: USD$580. Full payment must be received by the posted registration deadline.
All course times are listed in UTC. Make sure to check that the time of this course works for you in your time zone.
Registration instructions: Create or login to your IAIA Member Compass account. Register online using a credit card. To pay via wire, choose the invoice option at checkout. If paying via wire, please keep in mind that payment must be received by the registration deadline, and wire transfers can take several days to process. Please plan accordingly.
Please register early! The course will be cancelled if the minimum number has not been reached one week before the course start date. If the training course is cancelled at that time due to low enrollment, IAIA will notify you and provide refund information.
Payment & refund policies: Registration is not confirmed until payment has been received and a receipt has been issued. Pre-registration and pre-payment by individual course deadline is required. IAIA will refund registration fees upon written request received before the specific course deadline; a US$125 processing fee will be retained. After the course deadline date, no refunds will be issued for cancelations or no-shows. Substitutions for paid registrants may be made in writing without financial penalty.
Fantastic course overall. Instructors are extremely knowledgeable and are great facilitators
- Recent course participant
Excellent, expert practitioners with so much useful experience to draw on throughout their course
- Recent course participant
Love the instructors, they were so knowledgeable and experienced.
- Recent course participant
As a reviewer and decision maker on the submitted ESIA reports, this course has widened my knowledge on the gaps in the resettlement process and what to look out for when reviewing these reports
- Recent course participant
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