Based on the damages and needs assessment, the following project proposals are recommended for partners to support the tsunami-affected communities.
This section shows the summary of the project proposals, both for an emergency project, which will be implemented in 6 - 12 month towards the end of December 2005, and a medium- and long-term project to be implemented in 1 - 5 years.
A detailed description of each project proposal is shown in Annex 5 to 12.
The overall objective is to assist the Government’s efforts for a rapid re-establishment of sustainable income generating activities that were destroyed by the tsunami. The project beneficiaries are the poor artisan fishing and farming communities in the affected regions who lost their production assets and subsequently the means to support their livelihood and who are unlikely to meet the immediate food needs of their families without assistance.
The project will make available basic fishery and agriculture sector inputs such as wood for boat repair, gill net and fishing traps as well as fertilizer, seeds, animal feeds, etc. to start up activities in the worst affected areas for an approximate 4 000 beneficiaries in six provinces, namely, Phang-Nga, Ranong, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun. Inputs will be delivered to beneficiaries within six months to quickly restart income generation activities and increase food security as well as to restore livelihoods.
The institutional and operational arrangement for implementation, criteria for beneficiary selection, distribution mechanism, and specification of inputs are described in Annex 5.
The project will support the Government, in particular the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, with scientific information needed for enhancing coastal forest rehabilitation and management linked with the livelihoods of local communities and preparedness for future similar disasters.
It is reported that mangrove and other coastal forests had played an important role in protecting the communities behind them from the surge of tsunamis. Serious sand erosion caused many trees to be uprooted and their roots exposed. Various kinds of animal species also appeared to have been affected in their habitats by the tsunami. As the negative impact of the tsunami has not been fully assessed yet, it is urgently required to conduct a series of scientific studies to enhance the ecosystem rehabilitation efforts.
The project will conduct in-depth studies on the damage to mangroves, beach forests, peat swamp forests and other coastal plantations affected by the tsunami. The obtained findings will be presented to the local communities, local authorities, NGOs, and civil societies, and recommendations will be made for better natural resources management with appropriate land use planning and environment impact assessment in coastal areas. It will also conduct environmental awareness and disaster prevention training programmes for the local communities.
Project profile is shown in Annex 10.
The main objectives of the project are to assess the long-term environmental impact of the tsunami on coastal resources and ecosystem functioning, with emphasis on damages to the wild catch and aquaculture of selected economic species and to enhance the wild fish stock through widespread installation of artificial reefs.
It was observed that the tsunami affected the marine ecosystem including coral reefs, beaches and coastal forests. Such changes might lead to effects on phytoplankton productivity and the primary food chain, possibly due to the removal to the shoreline of seabed sludge or natural fertilizer.
Given the social and economic implications of changes in the ecosystem, the project will collaborate with the Department of Fisheries to assess the primary effects (seabed, coral reefs, coastal forests, etc.) as well as secondary effects (water transparency, water temperature, and primary productivity, etc.) and tertiary effects (catch and growth of selected economic marine species). The project will also lead to development of a plan to install artificial reefs as appropriate.
Project profile is shown in Annex 6.
The primary objective of the project is to assist the Government in the reclamation of the salt-affected soils due to sea water intrusion caused by the tsunami.
It was reported that crops, fruit trees and oil palm in the tsunami-affected areas showed symptoms of salinity toxicity. As the impact of sea water intrusion in the tsunami-affected areas has not yet been fully assessed, it is required to conduct a survey on the levels of salinity for soil reclamation.
The project will survey the extent of soil salinity in the affected areas and conduct a field demonstration to establish methods for reclamation of the salt-affected soils.
Project profile of this project is shown in Annex 7.
The Thai Government is now considering policy and institutional settings on how to establish a buffer zone along the coastal areas to protect the lands and human communities from the tropical storms, monsoon and tsunami waves. The objective of the project is to advise the Government in the subject areas of policy and institutional settings on coastal buffer zones (or green belts), and contribute to the planning of such zones with the most suitable tree species, including economic tree crop plantations, such as coconut palm, oil palm and rubber plantations.
The Project Profile is shown Annex 8.
The project will support the Government to improve environmental restoration and increase awareness of the role of natural resource management both for natural hazard vulnerability reduction and for the protection of valuable coastal natural resources.
The project will assess the damages caused by the tsunami to various natural resources as well as the mitigation effects of these vegetations by their locations, shapes and sizes of areas, species composition and density and management.
By doing so, the project will provide the provincial authorities and local communities with scientific information on the production, protection and other environmental functions of natural resources and identify types of rehabilitation/interventions with the aim of restoration of agricultural production and livelihood of the people. It will also implement environmental awareness training, education and disaster vulnerability management programme.
Project profile is shown in Annex 9.
This project will facilitate participatory community-based fisheries management and sustainable human development in coastal fishing communities in tsunami-affected areas, through awareness building, organization and empowerment of communities, promotion of alternative income generating activities, facilitating improved access to credit facilities and social and extension services, and strengthening linkages between local village organizations and local government institutions and administration.
The primary purpose of the project is to empower local community organizations to manage their natural resources in a sustainable manner, to plan, implement and monitor development activities to address their concerns and needs and to gain better access to services. The Project will be participatory in nature, beginning with identification of needs, determination of solution options, planning, and implementation to monitoring and evaluation.
The project profile is shown in Annex 12.
The project was proposed by the provincial agriculture offices of Krabi and Ranong.
The project will support the tsunami-affected farmers to quickly rehabilitate their livelihood through the promotion of chemical-free vegetable and hydroponic vegetable production.
Training as well as necessary agricultural materials will be provided to farmers to start vegetable cultivation, which will enable them to obtain quick income to improve food security.
The details of the project inputs are shown in Annex 11.
