The effect of environmental justice on social sustainability: A case study of Budi Gandaki Hydropower in Nepal

Abstract Large hydropower projects are commonly correlated with negative environmental effects, negative social consequences and inequalities. This study examines the negative social ramification that can be mitigated by careful planning of large hydropower projects, which involves incorporating ideas from theories of environmental justice and evaluating its relationship with social sustainability. A conceptual framework was designed based on the theory of environmental justice, and the findings were interpreted by a statistical hypothesis test from 235 sample questionnaires. The results of this study demonstrate that Environmental Justice and Social Sustainability have a positive relationship. The conceptual framework was tested on the residents being displaced in Nepal by the largest hydropower project. The model tests the social sustainability on the four different aspects of Environmental Justice; Substantive Justice, Procedural Justice, Distributive Justice, and Recognition Justice. The research concludes, the mitigation strategies taken by the Nepalese government in the construction of Nepal’s biggest hydropower project, ‘Budi Gandaki Hydropower’ to meet the social sustainable aspect of development to be satisfactory.