Post Tsunami Coastal Rehabilitation and Resource Management Programme

In response to the tsunami of 26 December 2004, IFAD prepared and approved the Post-Tsunami Coastal Rehabilitation and Resource Management Programme to assist communities devastated by the disaster to recover their assets and re-establish the foundation of their usual economic activities, while diversifying into new, profitable income-generating activities.

The immediate objectives of the activities will include providing essential social and economic infrastructure (particularly housing), strengthening communities to manage coastal resources sustainably and improve women's participation in social and economic activities. Programming and the financial management of programme resources will be decentralized and will be fully coordinated with other donor and government activities. The programme will apply participatory community approaches and will be flexible so that it can adjust to a rapidly changing socio-economic environment, natural calamities, and alternative available funding sources. During the first two years, the programme will focus mainly on recovering physical and financial assets. Following an in-depth review and any necessary adjustments to programme design and management, it will move on to the five-year development phase.

The programme's activities in the eastern districts will be coordinated with those of a recently initiated Asian Development Bank coastal resource management project.