| What is the impact on fisheries and agriculture in the affected countries ? |
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Fisheries and agriculture in coastal areas of countries bordering the Indian Ocean have been severely damaged by tsunami waves. Damage varies greatly between localities and generalizations are not possible. Among the worst-hit sectors are fisheries and aquaculture. In Sri Lanka for example 75% of the fisheries sector has been wiped out and 10 out of 12 main fishery harbours have been completely devastated. Many small scale fishers have lost their lives and others their boats and gear, their homes and fish processing equipment. Tens of thousands of aquaculture cages and ponds, most of them family owned, have been destroyed. The agricultural sector has been affected by losses to human capital, crops (especially rice stocks), productive lands (due to salinity damage), and livestock.
- Impact on Fisheries and Aquaculture:
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Loss of livelihood for many millions of small-scale coastal fishers,
e.g. India : 300 000 fishers were made jobless. Many of the fishing communities were situated right on the beach and whole villages were washed away by the waves. |
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Estimated losses of fishery fleet and industrial infrastructure are devastating e.g. Sri Lanka: approx. 80% of small-scale fishing boats (around 20 000 boats) in coastal regions destroyed.
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Loss of coastal aquaculture installations (ponds, hatcheries, equipment, infrastructure). In Thailand alone some 40 000 floating cages were lost.
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Sharp decrease in fish populations and destroyed coral reefs in many areas.
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Fish consumption is dropping because of unfounded fears that it is dangerous to eat seafood from the tsunami zone, however, elimination of fish from diets could cause malnutrition.
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- Impact on Agriculture:
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Rice is the main staple in the affected countries. The main season paddy crop was planted before the tsunami struck, now the extent of crop damage and impact on future food supplies is in question.
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Farm animals have been killed, food and tree crops have been washed away or are dying due to saltwater floods
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Loss of productive lands due to massive erosion, scouring, deposition and salinity
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Food and livelihood security will deteriorate rapidly unless the necessary means to restart agriculture and fishing are provided within weeks
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Huge loss of human capital means a lack of managerial capacity to cope with agricultural activities and with planning and implementing rehabilitation projects. |
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How long will it take for affected communities to restart agricultural and fishing activities ?
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The situation varies. In low damage areas, agriculture will restart in March and April while in more affected areas where the salt has not been thoroughly cleaned from the soil and only salt-tolerant varieties of crop will grow, late June is a more likely restart date. The most damaged areas will probably not be usable until the end of 2005 or beyond, while certain zones of destroyed coastal land will be best left to revert to ecosystems.
In the fishing communities people are starting to repair their homes, boats and gear with the help of NGO's, government and FAO expert teams. To repair and replace all lost boats, gear, fish cages, ponds and infrastructure will take more than one year, and several years in the worst affected areas.
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What long-term damage has been done to local ecosystems ? |
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Immediate damage is variable. In some areas, salt, sediment and debris deposits, and the uprooting of trees and bushes etc.. have profoundly damaged the continental side of the coastal ecosystems. The salt and bio-chemical balance of the lagoons has been completely changed. Flora and wildlife will be particularly affected, and it will take years to recover their pre-disaster capacity. Coastal aquatic ecosystems have also been damaged to a variable extent. Sandy-mud ecosystems and estuaries may have suffered less. Coral reefs have been seriously damaged in some areas, particularly the very superficial ones. In other areas, they have been practically unaffected. There are reports of reefs covered with sand (e.g. from India ). But the global assessment of the long-term consequences of this damage to ecosystems has not yet been carried out, given that the urgency was to address damage to sea fisheries and agriculture. The most likely assumption is that, except in some hardly hit superficial reefs, the long-term damage to the environment will be limited. In the medium-term, however, resources (eggs, larvae, juveniles, adults) have been washed ashore and recruitment shortage is likely, possibly for a year or so. On the other hand, the de facto closure of fisheries in many areas may lead to a (short-lived?) stock recovery in these areas that were strongly overexploited in the past.
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What help do fisher folk need to start fishing again ? |
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The assessment missions currently underway will provide a better picture of the needs of hard-hit fishing communities, where the loss of homes, boats, fishing gear, aquaculture cages and ponds have deprived communities of income and livelihoods, especially poor fishing households who may not have adequate savings to replace their assets and who are unlikely to meet the immediate food needs of their families without assistance.
The immediate priority now is to repair what has been damaged and help is needed in the form of funds to purchase material and equipment and the assistance of technical expertise. Local companies are also working hard to produce fishing boats, nets and other equipment. In the cases where this is not enough, boats and equipment need to be imported. Here it is important to precisely specify the design of boats, gear etc. as the local designs have been developed over time to be economically and technically sustainable. However good the intentions may be to send boats and gear to the affected countries, they may end up unused on the beaches if they are not adapted to the local environment.
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Will I get sick from eating fish from areas affected by the tsunami ? |
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Rumours that fish from the tsunami zone is unsafe to eat are unfounded. There is no evidence that fish- and seafood-borne illnesses have increased in Asian countries hit by the tsunami. In fact, removing fish from the diet could have a negative nutritional impact, with possible health consequences, especially for weakened tsunami survivors recovering from injuries.
One concern is that damaged wastewater and sanitation systems might leak into fishing grounds or aquaculture ponds. In such situations, people eating raw or lightly cooked fish would be more vulnerable. The best advice is for people to consume only healthy-looking, properly cleaned, and fully cooked fish in order to minimize risks.
Another fear is that one tsunami after-effect could be an increase in biotoxin concentrations in fish. However, the current environmental conditions in the tsunami-affected region are unlikely to favour biotoxin upsurges. Also, it is unlikely that there are any risks from naturally occurring chemical contaminants stirred up by the earthquake (i.e. heavy metals).
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Is there enough food available in the region to cover nutritional needs? |
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Yes, although it is estimated that two million people in 12 different countries in the disaster region are in need of food assistance, overall food availability in the region affected should be adequate to cover food needs. Since relatively large rice supplies are available in the region, it is recommended that local purchases be made whenever possible in order to meet food aid requirements in the different affected countries, so as to avoid disturbances to domestic food markets.
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How much livestock was lost in the tsunami disaster ? |
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There is still little information concerning the impact of the tsunami on domestic farm animals. However, from experience elsewhere, there is likely to have been considerable destruction of buildings that housed animals - all animals or birds that were housed, tethered or caged in the affected areas will have been lost. The main casualties were poultry, pigs, goats, sheep and to a lesser extent cattle and buffalos.
Initial reports indicate that farm animals have not suffered to the extent that might have been originally expected. The situation in Northern Sumatra however remains a major concern and reports are coming out indicating that over 20,000 cattle/buffalos, 20,000 small ruminants and nearly 2.5 million poultry were lost.
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Is there a risk of outbreaks of infectious animal diseases ? If so, what preventative measures can be taken ? |
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Yes, the sudden movement of animals from other regions could facilitate the spread of animal diseases in the restocking localities. Also, stress resulting from the catastrophe, lack of proper animal housing, consumption of contaminated water, and lack of feed, could exacerbate animal disease outbreaks.
The areas most affected by the tsunami such the west coast of northern Sumatra are now under serious threat of disease outbreaks as a result of damaged water and sanitation systems, sea water contamination and a breakdown of animal disease surveillance systems. Zoonotic diseases such as, salmonellosis, leptospirosis, anthrax, rabies, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis are serious potential threats.
At the same time in the worst affected areas the human losses in agriculture and veterinary services are enormous, and there is a need to restore their capacity as quickly as possible to allow early warning and early reaction to the main infectious diseases and provision of timely interventions for disease control and prevention, both for restocking and surviving animals. In addition, steps should be taken to provide food inspection, particularly in refugee camps and ensure general hygiene with special attention paid to animal waste.
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How did the tsunami affect the water supply in coastal areas ? |
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Yes, there has been a major loss of water resources surrounding the affected coastal areas. In many cases the domestic water supply (wells) has been contaminated by salt water, dead bodies and pollutants from the disruption of chemical containers or other infrastructure. Many of the lagoon systems (physical linkage to the sea and chemical water balance) have been disturbed, if not destroyed.
There are major concerns about the fresh groundwater lenses in the shallow islands of the Maldives . These lenses are fed by infiltration from natural precipitation through the sandy soil of the island. The risk is that the salt that has contaminated the upper layer of soil during the floods will filter down and infiltrate the fragile and thin groundwater system. In other words the natural cleansing of the soil will generate further problems regarding the domestic water supply.
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Is there a risk of a spread of HIV/AIDS as a result of the emergency ? |
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Yes, when a population is faced with an emergency situation, the potential for HIV infection can increase significantly due to huge damage to infrastructure, massive displacement of people, and the breakdown of family networks. The loss of livelihoods and widespread economic uncertainty created by the tsunami has disrupted communal social standards governing sexual behaviour which can lead to increases in risk-taking behaviour such as prostitution. An increase in sexual violence has also been reported ( Sri-Lanka , Indonesia ), and this in turn can result in increases in sexually transmitted infections and related diseases.
Emergency operations and rehabilitation interventions should pay special attention to the economic and psycho-social needs of agricultural households affected by HIV/AIDS. The reconstruction period should be seen as an opportunity to implement innovative rural development programmes to empower agricultural communities affected by the tsunami, while also promoting initiatives that address the social, economic and gender-related underpinnings of HIV/AIDS and thereby contribute to its prevention.
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Did the tsunami affect women and men differently ? |
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Past events of a similar nature – such as the tsunami that hit Flores Island in Indonesia in December 1992 – have demonstrated that in a disaster situation it is often the case that many more women than men lose their lives. This can be at least partially attributed to the tendency of men, especially in low-development areas, to take refuge for themselves while women tend to attempt to protect the old and the young.
The tsunami has also disrupted the traditional allocation of tasks. Men have traditionally taken care of fishing and marketing, while women are responsible for fish processing, small markets and home gardening. Women and men are now taking on new roles and responsibilities to adapt to the new socio-economic conditions they find themselves in, to secure their own and their families' survival.
Due to the household division of labour, women traditionally take care of the sick and their burden has increased since the tsunami. In addition, as they usually have the responsibility to fetch water, they will probably need to increase the amount of time dedicated to collecting both drinking water and freshwater for agriculture crops.
Fear of sexual violence has been reported to limit women and girls' mobility and their search for new economic opportunities. It has also made them reluctant to move into camps where they could have access to food. Women and children are often the most vulnerable because of their lower socio-economic standing, and as a result have limited access to necessary resources. They lack influence due to inequality and disempowerment, and often have less decision-making power and control over their lives.
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What is FAO doing in response to the tsunami disaster ? |
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FAO relief efforts aim to ensure that local farmers and fisher folk hit by the tsunami receive all the assistance needed to cover their food requirements and to restart farming and fishing as soon as possible. With international assistance, agriculture and fisheries should be able to recover from this catastrophe.
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FAO has begun to assist the fisheries and agriculture sectors of the tsunami affected countries through relief & rehabilitation activities, and will remain active in the region after immediate relief efforts are carried out to ensure long-term projects to promote sustainable livelihoods are implemented. |
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FAO has launched an urgent appeal to raise $26 million for farmers and fisher folk hit by the South-Asian tsunami disaster and has already provided US$1.5M in emergency aid for agriculture and fisheries in Indonesia , the Maldives , Sri Lanka and Thailand. |
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FAO is working in close collaboration with governments, development banks and international organizations to coordinate its relief efforts and long-term projects. |
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FAO has strengthened technical assistance to the region (fisheries experts, agronomists, national experts, emergency coordinators) to assist governments in priority setting for rehabilitation. |
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Can I donate money to the FAO? How would it be used ? |
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Yes, in response to calls from the public wishing to help the victims of the disaster in southeast Asia, FAO has opened a bank account in Euro "TELEFOOD - MAREMOTO IN ASIA, Banca Intesa SpA, number 6152226811/13".
For tax-deductible contributions in the United States , donations can be sent to the United States Committee for FAO: P.O. Box 33145 (tel: 1-800-252-0455); Washington DC 20033-3145 with a note indicating that the donation is for Tsunami relief.
Italian donors can also make a donation at the post office account: "FAO TELEFOOD MAREMOTO IN ASIA, number 60222825".
Donations deposited in these accounts will be used to meet the reconstruction needs of the affected countries in the agriculture and fisheries sectors.
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