What's New...

Survivors of the Tsunami: A New UNDP Book
One year has passed since the Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004. The magnitude of the disaster was unprecedented and so was the scale of generosity of international society. In total, $13.6 billion has been pledged. While the daunting challenges of mid-term recovery and longer-term reconstruction will remain for at least several more years, the book Survivors of the Tsunami: One Year Later, provides a snapshot of UNDP’s response to this disaster in the past year and highlights our efforts to support survivors in rebuilding their lives.  Snapshot of UNDP Support: UNDP requested $177 million in the Flash Appeal; $120 million was mobilized and $75 million was delivered in the first 10 months. Survivors of the Tsunami highlights how this assistance was translated into concrete efforts to coordinate UN relief and recovery efforts; assist affected communities in generating job opportunities; re-establish basic infrastructure; rehabilitate hard-hit tourism fishery sectors; build government and local capacities for recovery and reconstruction; promote consultation with local communities; and develop early warning systems. In particular, the book highlights how UNDP’s support of tsunami survivors played a key role in designing recovery. Because the outpouring of generosity raised expectations for accountability and transparency, UNDP has helped the tsunami-affected governments establish the Development Assistance Database to track incoming resources, trace where funds have been allocated, and see whether the tsunami projects are achieving their goals. Maintaining the Momentum: “The one-year mark is hardly an endpoint on the road to full recovery,” said UNDP Tsunami Task Force Chairperson Hafiz A. Pasha (RBAP Director). “Many homes still need building, roads and ports need repairing, and better livelihoods and safer living conditions need to be developed.” We need to keep this momentum and help mainstream community-based disaster risk reduction strategies and lessons learned into the longer-term reconstruction process. Our challenge now is to get this job done.  For more information on this book or UNDP Maldives: One Year After the Tsunami, which takes stock of challenges in five areas: shelter and internally displaced people, universal access to quality health and education, rehabilitation of livelihoods, reconstruction of infrastructure, and environmental sustainability and disaster management, contact iori.kato@undp.org.

A New Support Network for Democratic Dialogue
In December 2005, practitioners met in Buenos Aires, Argentina to launch UNDP’s Regional Support Network for Democratic Dialogue Processes. The new mechanism, which benefits from the support of Canada and Spain, will provide technical assistance to national processes supported by UNDP’s Country Offices (COs) in the Latin American and Caribbean region. It offers technical support in the design, organization, facilitation and evaluation of dialogue processes. It also proposes capacity building initiatives for staff and counterparts. The network was launched in response to demands for targeted, tailor-made support to improve the quality and impact of dialogue processes. Dialogue processes are used to address complex societal problems that are not tackled adequately by existing institutions. Their goal is to create conditions of trust essential for shared solutions, reduce tensions leading to violent conflict, and improve democratic governance. The network, which is an integral part of the Regional Project on Democratic Dialogue, brings together a group of skilled practitioners from the region with experience in supporting dialogue processes. The network has been shaped by CO demands and the experience of delivering support in more than 10 countries during the last two years. The network offers a structured way of delivering support, provides a platform for learning between practitioners, and guarantees rapid response to COs. It draws on a group of practitioners who can both contribute and benefit from their involvement in the network while maintaining their relations and work with other institutions. With the creation of this network, UNDP affirms its commitment to supporting dialogue as a crucial tool for conflict prevention and development. For more information, contact francisco.diez@undp.org or  marc-andré.franche@undp.org.

Return to Newsletter Homepage

Quick Links...

Newsletter Home
PDF of This Issue
What's New
Events
Who's Who: CPR Staff
Past Issue

Do You Have a News Item to Submit?

If so, contact us with a 200-300 word summary including any images and contact information.

Contact BCPR