Technical experts underlined after a meeting organised by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) that recovery efforts would also have to tackle problems with poverty, conflicts or land disputes that existed before the tsunami struck, on top of reconstruction. "You're very rarely talking about a process of less than five years and usually it's more like 10 years," UNDP disaster recovery specialist Andrew Maskrey told journalists on Monday. "We have to be careful of the tyranny of rush: trying to get things done quickly can actually put us behind in the long run," said Kathleen Cravero Director of the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, adding that the process was "well underway". Other challenges included coordination of all the actors involved, and financial transparency in using the billions of dollars in aid pledges that have been made in areas that were sometimes blighted by corruption.

More information - Press Kit Material

More information: UNDP Updates on Tsunami Recovery // UNDP Tsunami Recovery Website

Before December 2004 the Maldives was well on the way to tackling poverty. Since the early 1990's literacy has been close to 100 percent, under-five mortality has fallen from 11.5 percent to just over seven percent and safe water has been available to almost everyone, to name a few development achievements. Tourism, fisheries and other industries have boosted the economy and provided significant growth. But the Boxing Day tsunami, which devastated many countries in the region, has placed these achievements at risk. The Maldives was one of the worst affected countries hit by the tsunami. While only about 100 people died (a small figure compared to the more than 260,000 killed by the tsunami worldwide), the country and economy lay in ruins.

Full story // UNDP Adopt-an-island Initiative

More information: UNDP Maldives CO // UNDP Maldives Tsunami Website // More Updates on Maldives and the Tsunami // DRU and Maldives // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-MDV

A groundbreaking development strategy for Koh Lanta in Southern Thailand is being launched to bolster the island’s post-tsunami recovery efforts, while establishing the island as a shining example of economic and social harmony paired with forward-thinking natural resource management. The Indigenous Livelihood Restoration and Sustainable Ecology For Lanta Island Project was officially kicked off today during a formal signing ceremony between the district of Koh Lanta, Krabi Province, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI) and the Chumchon Thai Foundation. In the spirit of UNDP’s tsunami recovery slogan “Build Back Better”, the project seeks to support local government, community leaders and the private sector to design and implement a visionary plan for developing the island in a sustainable, eco-friendly, tourism-smart, culturally-sensitive way, well beyond the immediate tsunami recovery needs.

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More information: UNDP Thailand CO // UNDP Thailand Tsunami Website // More Updates on Thailand and the Tsunami // DRU and Thailand // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-THA

Sometimes, filling out an application form can be a difficult task. On a sunny mid-afternoon at the Employment Centre in Meulaboh, a city on the Westcoast of Aceh, two wooden tables and benches are occupied by people filling out one-paged documents. It looks like a scene out of a mid-term exam, except in this case, everyone is allowed to chat and ask their neighbors how to fill in the questions. A young man sitting next to an older lady patiently answers her question on how to fill the section titled previous experiences. "I can cook really well", she proudly proclaims to him, "I can also sew, wash and clean". When asked what type of job she is looking for, the lady replies she would like to work as a cook. Some of the men sitting on the same bench say they want to continue farming, while others have aspirations to, "…be a driver for international organizations to drive their people around town".

The man-made harbour at Eydafushi island in Baa Atoll, largely destroyed by last December’s tsunami, will be rebuilt as a result of an agreement signed today between UNDP and the Maldives Ministry of Atolls Development. The Baa Atoll lies north of the country’s capital city, Male. The agreement is the first of a series of projects aimed at revitalizing the local economies of the various islands, and will improve the islanders access to essential services such as health and education. The tsunami, which destroyed piers, jetties and navigational aid, has made inter-island travel in the Maldives difficult. Work on the project, which has been funded by Japan, is already ongoing and it is expected that construction to be completed before the end of September. The programme is being coordinated by the country’s Disaster Management Committee. The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation will also play a major role in rebuilding harbours and navigational aids.

More information: UNDP Maldives CO // UNDP Maldives Tsunami Website // More Updates on Maldives and the Tsunami // DRU and Maldives // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-MDV

George Bush and Bill Clinton, the 41st and 42nd Presidents of the United States, announced that a private fund bearing their names has raised US$10 million so far and will be used to target projects in four countries affected by last December’s Indian Ocean tsunami, including the UNDP Adopt-an-island programme in the Maldives. The privately raised funds will go to reconstruction projects already underway in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives – the four countries visited by the two Presidents during their tour of region February 17-22 earlier this year. A portion of the funds will help Adopt-An-Island in the Maldives, a programme established by UNDP to allow businesses, governments, individuals or organizations to directly support communities in tsunami-stricken islands to rebuild. The proceeds from the Bush-Clinton Fund will go to the United Nations Foundation to adopt an island on behalf of the Bush-Clinton Fund, and will be used to improve an island’s water and sanitation conditions and to reconstruct the island’s harbor and its government offices.

Despite the logistical challenges of operating in the tsunami-stricken regions of northeast Somalia, the humanitarian community responded quickly to the life-saving needs of the affected communities by providing food, medicine, non food items. A joint inter-agency assessment mission comprising representatives of NGOs, UN agencies and Puntland authorities was conducted from 28 January to 8 February 2005 in the tsunami-affected areas to identify any gaps in the ongoing humanitarian response and the specific mid/long-term recovery needs of affected communities. The multi-sector assessment covered Food, Nutrition & Livelihood Security; Fisheries; Health & Nutrition; Education; Water & Sanitation; Shelter; Infrastructure and Governance. Gender, Protection and Child Rights, Demographics, Environment, HIV/AIDS and Security were covered as crosscutting issues. The findings of the assessment mission confirmed that the existing emergency responses in the form of health, water, shelter, non-food items and food have largely met the identified humanitarian needs of the affected communities.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officially opened its Asian regional centre for coordinating disaster preparedness in the region. The centre would shoulder the responsibility of coordinating and supporting responses region-wide in partnership with UN agencies and NGOs in disaster preparedness and mitigation work and conducting assessments when disasters strike, said Zephirin Diabre, UNDP associate administrator. The UNDP has decided to streamline and integrate its work to create synergy and combine downstream operations with upstream expertise and knowledge to be able to address challenges in an efficient manner, Mr Diabre said. While continuing recovery and reconstruction work for those affected by the Dec 26 tsunami disaster, the UNDP was also re-energising its efforts by focusing on disaster preparedness and planning, he said. The centre, running unofficially since January this year, would link up with 25 country offices in the region and work with other regional centres in Colombo and Fiji. The Bangkok centre would also focus on democratic governance, energy and environment issues and crisis prevention and recovery. Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said Thailand's neighbours would benefit from quick access to the centre's information pool. Thailand's expertise and experience in many areas from poverty reduction to rural development could be tapped through the centre, he said. On tsunami-related work, the UNDP could help bridge the gap between emergency relief and long-term development and ensure that the funds and technical assistance received were well used, Mr Kantathi said at the opening ceremony. The centre should also work closely with the Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre for the benefit of the region, he added.

UN Habitat Tsunami's Website // Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre

More information: UNDP Thailand CO // UNDP Thailand Tsunami Website // More Updates on Thailand and the Tsunami // DRU and Thailand // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-THA

The Nation Thailand : Four months after the tsunami struck the Andaman coast, operations to survey and rescue underwater species at Similan Islands are continuing. Now that corals have been cleaned, teams hit the water over the weekend to revive the kalabangha, or sea fan. Last week, the first crew of the sea fan rescue team was sent to Similan. It was led by the PMBC in cooperation with Prince of Songkhla University and under the sponsorship of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Foreign and local volunteers jointed the crew of 40. An evaluation would be conducted at least three times during the project, said Hakan Bjorkman, UNDP deputy resident representative. Niphon said the tsunami impact assessment on coral in the Andaman Sea had covered all 10 marine parks and one wildlife reserve. Of all 174 sites checked in the six Andaman provinces, 13 per cent were impacted heavily and 9 per cent moderately. The impact was low in 17 per cent of the sites, very low in 21 per cent and 40 per cent were not affected at all, he said.

Full story // UNDP Mission Report: Emergency Tsunami Coral Reef Clean-Up Operations Project Monitoring and Media Trip, Similan Islands

More information: UNDP Thailand CO // UNDP Thailand Tsunami Website // More Updates on Thailand and the Tsunami // DRU and Thailand // UNOSAT Maps & Satellite Imagery on the Earthquakes & Tsunamis in Asia // GLIDE No: TS-2004-000147-THA