5. Medium- and long-term rehabilitation needs (1 to 5 years)

5.1 Livelihoods of coastal communities

The main challenge in the rehabilitation of livelihoods is to support the coastal communities in rebuilding their economies in a sustainable manner considering the available skills and the resources. Thus, long-term planning and management and coordination of rehabilitation activities should be focused on establishment of sustainable livelihoods for the coastal communities. In this context, a number of related issues have been taken into consideration in national planning and policy development such as coastal zoning, sustainable agricultural practices and environmentally sound fisheries and aquaculture. However, further debate and consensus building is required to further improve these processes to identify and implement integrated coastal area management practices with the active participation of the coastal communities. Detailed technical assessments of the damages due to the tsunami and their impacts on livelihoods and the environment, as well as effective communication of these findings to all stakeholders including the international community, are important prerequisites for effective planning of interventions and strategies for rehabilitation of livelihoods.

The rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts offer an opportunity for not just restoring livelihoods and rehabilitating ecosystems to the pre-tsunami situation, but to create conditions to overcome some previous weaknesses and create better livelihoods. In general, the focus should be on:

Technologies which assist in creating sustained employment-intensive activities which benefit especially the most vulnerable and marginalized. The main emphasis is on alleviation of poverty.
Real incentives and opportunities for people in coastal communities to build up economic activities into strong livelihoods that will also enhance and empower the local community. Long-term planning for promoting market-led and economically sustainable measures are needed.
Integrated and holistic approaches for sustainable enhancement of livelihoods of coastal communities with minimum impact on the environment considering the fact that the economic well-being of the community depends on maintaining a variety of eco-systems around them.
Effective mechanisms of delivering information and appropriate technologies to the affected communities.
Capacity building to explore new opportunities / diversification for enhancing livelihoods.
Micro-credit and other similar initiatives to re-establish and improve their livelihoods with greater involvement of village organizations/NGOs.
In planning and implementing rehabilitation programmes it is important to consider the social inequity of vulnerable groups, and gender specific issues such as women’s access to resources, culturally defined gender division of work and the multiple tasks women carry out as producers and caregivers.

5.2 Coastal fishery and aquaculture

In trying to get the right outlook at to what a rehabilitated fishery and aquaculture sector would look like, it is important to have some key features identified. Therefore, a ‘vision’ for fisheries and aquaculture is a sector that:

contributes to poverty alleviation, sustainable livelihoods and food security at household, local and national levels;
is based on sound regulation, good governance and functional management institutions that ensure equitable development and safety within the different parts of the sector;
uses appropriate technologies with due recognition of the environmentally sustainable limits to harvesting natural resources and aquaculture products;
is part of a holistic view of the coastal ecosystems and is managed according to the principles of integrated coastal zone management, including the wider aspects of land, tenure and relocation of communities;
has a well integrated supply chain from harvest to consumer that supports labour intensive post-harvest activities (which are mainly carried out by women), equitable trade and marketing that ensures safe food for all.

Guidelines for the rehabilitation of the fishery and aquaculture sectors

Specific guidelines for the fishery sector include those that ensure:

a well-regulated fishing capacity that is commensurate with the sustainable yield of the fishery resource;
a balance of small-scale artisanal fisher folk fishing inshore waters and larger-scale “industrial” vessels restricted to off-shore waters (with a “pro-poor” policy that gives preference to beach-based labour intensive fishing);
use of non-destructive fishing gear and practices and adequate safety at sea;
healthy ecosystems that have been rehabilitated through participatory practices that involve the people that depend on them;
an industry based on good governance with strong institutional support from both government and NGO’s; and
a sector supported by a high quality on-shore infrastructure that ensures food safety and value-adding potential in post-harvest processing and sale of fish products.

Specific guidelines for the aquaculture sector include those that ensure:

environmentally sound management practices that do not pollute, damage habitats or cause long-term irreversible harm (including use of feed and seed from sustainable sources);
use of technologies and farm-management practices that are appropriate to rural people and minimize impacts on other users of the coastal environment; and
supports farmer organizations, marketing, processing manufacturing of inputs and outputs, fair trade and markets, international and regional partnerships and wide-scale communication, facilitation of dialogue and sharing of experiences.

Rehabilitation processes

The implementation activities will follow a step-wise approach starting with detailed impact/damage assessments and needs analyses that form the basis of all rehabilitation activities. These assessments should include the institutional capacity of different organizations at all levels (and economic sectors) to deliver effectively and the organizational ability of recipients to receive and utilize inputs. Actions taken should have a clear indication of measurable outcomes with an emphasis on “accountability” and “transparency”. Effective communication is a core element of any intervention and such actions will support coordinated partnership between governments, NGOs, international agencies and bilateral donors. In particular, the findings and outcomes of assessments should be communicated clearly to development partners throughout the process.

Key strategies and priority areas recommended for the rehabilitation process^[7]

Strategy 1 - Improve Policy, Institutions and Processes

Set clear policy objectives which acknowledge trade-offs between competing objectives (economic, social and environmental).
Strengthen fisheries management institutions
Promote integrated coastal management as a governance process for facilitating discussions between stakeholders.
Ensure consultation with and participation of stakeholders

Strategy 2 - Provide physical assets

Provide physical assets through conducting needs assessments, purchasing, and identification targeted beneficiaries, to ensure timely delivery to those in need.
Provide physical assets that support broad livelihood activities, involving both CONSRN partners and other agencies with the competency and mandate.
Control the provision of physical assets to avoid over-capacity, recognising the trade-off between the need for rapid inputs (such as boats), versus good governance and legislation.
Provide policy advice and advocacy on over capacity issues through regional meetings.
Support development of legislation (which reflects local level needs, monitoring, and registration for example) at national level to reduce over capacity.
Supply physical assets that are compatible with the needs of the affected people (“like for like” principle)
Monitor the process of procurement and distribution by all suppliers

Strategy 3 - Ensure equitable access to inputs and the sustainably managed resources

Carry out stakeholder analysis to ensure participation and equitable access to resources, determination of levels of fishing capacity and equitable planning for aquaculture activities.
Consult with the fisher communities and fish farmers in a transparent way before considering relocation.
Rehabilitate important habitats and ecosystems (such as coral reefs and mangroves) through participatory approaches with communities and in cooperation with the concerned Government Departments, Ministries and Institutions.
Ensure access to supplies of seed and broodstock for aquaculture.

Strategy 4 - Provide appropriate financial mechanisms

Assess and understand the existing financial mechanisms (formal and informal) in their cultural context.
Ensure overcapacity is not encouraged through provision of loans to repair and replace vessels.
Support the establishment of an enabling environment for financial institutions and systems (formal, informal) to ensure their rapid return to normal operation
Provide all players in the supply chains have access to appropriate finance but with a focus on small scale non-commercial lending.
Collaborate with APRACA through providing technical inputs to their assessments and (through APRACA collaboration) to the Banks for their lending guidelines.

Strategy 5 - Improve community livelihoods and responsible coastal resources / management.

Facilitate the empowerment of communities (through development of human skills) to ensure greater community organization and participation in networking, negotiation and self-reliance [such as development of marketing or micro-enterprise organisations].
Increase skills, knowledge, ability to work and health of all those in affected fishing and aquaculture communities with emphasis on small-scale, marginalized, resource poor people, and
Enhance the capacity of the institutions working to support them (to be implemented at the community and national level).
Facilitate the empowerment of communities (through development of human skills) to ensure greater community organization and participation in networking, negotiation and self-reliance [such as development of marketing or micro-enterprise organisations].
Train and plan in the implementation of responsible community coastal resource management strategies and enforcement.
Provide training in sustainable livelihoods approach

Strategy 6. Re-build and enhance the social asset, resources and networks upon which people in affected fishing and aquaculture communities draw in pursuit of their livelihood strategies and psychosocial well-being (to be implemented at the community and national level).

Establish, rebuild and strengthen community organizations (e.g. fisher groups, cooperatives, religious groups, women’s support groups, etc)
Strengthening existing social institutions
Identify existing expertise and skills in particular disciplines and sectors and map to needs.
Network and communicate with existing organizations and ensure expertise and activities publicised.
Support establishment of structured mechanisms for consultation, interaction, communication and coordination between governments, donors and NGO’s.

5.3 Agriculture / Livestock

In the medium and longer term, the aim of the intervention in agriculture is to restore crop production and enhance the livelihoods of the affected population in the devastated areas. More specifically, concrete actions are envisaged to restore the food-production capabilities by restoring sustainable crop production systems (i.e. field and horticultural crops, forage/pasture) and the reintroduction of crop and agro-biodiversity that were lost as a result of the tsunami.

Interventions will also aim at supporting national institutions in reinstating the farmers' know-how level that has been weakened as a result of the loss of experienced farmers. This entails training of trainers and farmers on good agricultural practices and environmentally-appropriate horticulture and livestock-based farming systems. In restoring crop production, it is important to assess the damages to agricultural land, so that appropriate interventions can be identified and implemented.

As discussed in the previous sections, the main damage to agricultural land and water resources were due to salt water intrusion. Standing crops, especially fruit trees, exhibited symptoms of saline toxicity after five to ten days of sea water intrusion. Coconut trees showed tolerance to soil salinity and no damage was visible. However, as a result of the direct impact of tidal waves, many coconut trees near the coast were destroyed.

Rehabilitation of salt affected soil

Discussions were held with the Tai Meuang Land Development Unit in Phang-Nga and with the staff of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific with regard to the various possibilities of reclamation of salt affected soils.

The chief of the Tai Meuang Land Development Unit suggested that: (1) If the pH of the affected soil is below 8, soil reclamation could be done by application of gypsum (natural calcium sulphate) and organic fertilizer (compost of crop residue and animal waste); (2) if the pH of the affected soil is above 8, soil reclamation should be done by flushing and leaching of soil with water and planting of legume crops such as mung bean and cowpea.

The guidelines provided by the Agriculture Department of FAO will be useful in identification of appropriate reclamation measures depending on the severity and extent of the salinity damage (please find the details in Annex 14 or at the web site: ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/aglw/docs/idp57.pdf]

If soil sodicity occurs gypsum application will be required to promote water infiltration and leaching and the amount of water required for leaching depends on the initial salinity and soil type (field data from other areas showed that a silt-clay soil with a soil water salinity of about 17 dS/m needed about 500 mm of water applied for five months to reduce the salt content in the top 50 cm to permit moderately salt tolerant crops to grow).

As for the livestock sector, the surviving animals suffer from lack of feed and water resources, thus growing salt tolerant improved varieties of pastures and grasses should be incorporated into a medium- to long-term rehabilitation plan. Interventions in this area by the Department of Livestock Development, the Land Development Department and the Department of Agriculture are foreseen.

5.4 Mangrove and other coastal forests

As mentioned in 3.6, the view of the village chief in Ranong province implies that the mangrove forest in front of his village might have acted as an effective buffer to minimize the tsunami damage to his communities. Such a protective function provided by mangroves and other coastal forests has been witnessed by the people living in coastal areas. In fact, some woody vegetation has been established to help protect coastal communities from shore line erosion caused by strong tropical storms or monsoon waves, and currents. Wind break forests offer another example. As a result, those tree stands serve to local communities for the long-term security of their livelihoods and environment.

Despite many similar cases reported by local people, scientific evidences for the mitigation functions of mangroves and other coastal forests, especially against a tsunami, are weak. Views of witness remain as anecdotes and thus endless arguments continue whether mangroves and other coastal forests are effective buffers or not or how effective they are. It is, therefore, essential to carry out a series of scientific studies to give the anecdotes a scientific background. To learn lessons from this disaster through the tragic experiences of the tsunami victims is the best way to ensure a safer future for the survivors.

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources is planning to carry out studies on the protective functions of mangroves and other coastal forests to seek scientific proof. The findings, which will be available within 7-8 months, will be utilized in the medium- and long-term rehabilitation plans in Thailand to better manage the existing mangrove forest reserves and the patches of other coastal forests. It is suggested that the following guiding principles should be taken into consideration for medium/long-term rehabilitation:

Study the mitigation functions of mangroves and other coastal forests, by determining relations between their size and shape, location, species composition, and management system, and the magnitude of a tsunami;
Learn from what the local communities observed and experienced, including their traditional knowledge;
Design the most appropriate buffer zones in the different ecological conditions and the socio-economic requirements of the local communities, including tree planting activities;
Balance the short- and long-term benefits of stakeholders, in a partnership between the local communities and authorities;
Coordinate the rehabilitation programmes with various regional activities that have been initiated by UN agencies such as FAO, UNDP, UNEP; other international, regional and national organizations, including NGOs; and donors; and
Keep in mind that there is a growing awareness to shift the framework of the coastal natural resources management system from the conventional sector approach to an integrated approach. In this new framework, the building of buffer zones or greenbelts takes on an essential role in the whole coastal area management strategy and implementation plans.

^[7] These strategies and priority areas were the conclusions of the FAO Regional workshop at which Thailand was a participating country.