Goal is for tsunami victims to sustain better livelihoods, aid worker says
By Todd Bullock, Washington File Staff Writer
Washington - The effort to rebuild 650 communities in Indonesia's Aceh province and Nias Islands devastated by the December 2004 tsunami has brought together donor organizations and provincial and local authorities for the first time to provide long-term development and economic sustainability to affected populations.
"Our goal and approach to tsunami reconstruction is to 'build back better' to provide rural and urban communities in Aceh and Nias with stronger economies, better governance and an overall better quality of life," says Jonathan Simon, chief of party - or project manager - for the U.S.-funded Aceh Technical Assistance Recovery Project (A-TARP). Simon shared his views January 25 during an Asia Society program entitled "The Tsunami: One Year After the Disaster."
Unprecedented levels of financial donations and material assistance have been provided for Aceh and Nias, Simon said. What is most needed now, he said, is coordination among the hundreds of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Indonesian organizations and governmental organizations providing reconstruction assistance.
"Each organization is developing its own methods and practices," he said. "We have to make sure each success can be replicated." The assistance should allow tsunami victims not only to rebuild their lives, but to sustain better livelihoods, he said.
A-TARP'S GOALS
A-TARP is a $14.6-million three-year project directly funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide civil and economic reconstruction and technical assistance for Indonesian authorities. It began in May 2005 by providing assistance to authorities at the village, district, provincial and national levels.
The United States has obligated more than 60 percent of the Tsunami Recovery and Reconstruction Fund - or $400.1 million out of the $656 million authorized by Congress in May 2005 - for Indonesia. Of the countries hit by the tsunami - Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia, Somalia and the Seychelles - Indonesia suffered the most damage.
The tsunami displaced some 550,000 people in Aceh and Nias, and thousands of families still live in tents or other temporary shelters. Half of the region's schools were destroyed, as was a large percentage of hospitals and health facilities. Sixty-four thousand hectares of agricultural land were ruined, and ports and fisheries were lost, according to USAID.
As part of the project, A-TARP is working with Indonesia's Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (identified by the Bahasa Indonesia acronym BRR) and Aceh's Governor's Office to ensure local participation in planning and rebuilding and to plan for future disasters, according to Simon.
COMMUNITY MAPPING AND SPATIAL ASSISTANCE
Two of the top priorities are community mapping and spatial assistance to help local governments operate with improved efficiency, Simon said.
"A first step in reconstruction is re-drawing maps of the 650 affected villages in the tsunami zone," Simon said. "Teams of Indonesian farmers are working with villagers under guidelines to identify and agree on public and private property lines."
Digital maps then will be drawn to aid spatial planners in the next stage of reconstruction, he added.
"The BRR is looking at all aspects of land use to redesign Aceh's communities," Simon said. "Elements addressed in village spatial plans include: consolidation of schools, health and other public facilities; environmental protection; connection points with public utilities services as well as placement of economic activities."
He added that technical assistance is being provided to local land agencies to replace destroyed records.
"Along with homes and farms, government infrastructure and many skilled civil servants were lost in the tsunami," Simon said. "Regional and local government in Aceh and Nias must be rethought and restarted at a pace that will allow the BRR to hand off its reconstruction functions to local authorities."
ACCOUNTABILITY
Addressing Indonesia's progress towards tsunami reconstruction, Simon praised the BRR as a "groundbreaking organization" that has demonstrated its ability to adapt to the changing situation on the ground in Aceh and to maintain strict accountability for its programs.
The project has established an Anti-Corruption Unit to guard against illegal allocation or use of the enormous sums of assistance coming into Aceh, he said, adding that the project also is advising Indonesia's Supreme Audit Board on how to ensure transparency and accountability.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)