Implications of hydropower projects on vulnerable social groups is a highly sensitive issue. In some cases a hydropower development may intrude on indigenous land, and may be only one of a number of multiple pressures on vulnerable communities that can have social and cultural consequences.  Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities can be disadvantaged in the development process, and their social and cultural identity eroded or even lost.  A significant transformation of the physical landscape can destroy ancestral sites and conflict with basic belief and value systems.

The community may be directly affected by hydropower developments where relocation and resettlement is required.  They can also be indirectly affected by increasing encroachment of outside influences on their traditional lands, the introduction of disease and the loss of self-determination.  This can lead to loss or impacts on local subsistence resources, as well as community breakdown.