Fuente : World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org

Post-Tsunami Recovery Will Take About A Decade: UN Agencies

/noticias.info/ Countries hit by last December's devastating tsunami around the Indian Ocean will take at least five to 10 years to recover with the help of international aid, United Nations agencies said Monday, Agence France Presse reports.


Technical experts underlined after a meeting organized by the UN Development Program (UNDP) that recovery efforts would also have to tackle problems with poverty, conflicts or land disputes that existed before the tsunami struck, on top of reconstruction. "You're very rarely talking about a process of less than five years and usually it's more like 10 years," disaster recovery specialist Andrew Maskrey of UNDP said.

The UNDP said that it wanted to "build back better, build back stronger" and warned against rebuilding "the conditions of risk" that existed before the disaster in the Indonesian province of Aceh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives. Housing would be improved, protected from recurrent natural disasters, backed by improved health and education services, and the effort would also try to ensure lower levels of malnutrition. "We have to be careful of the tyranny of rush: trying to get things done quickly can actually put us behind in the long run," said Kathleen Cravero of the UN's humanitarian coordination office (OCHA), adding that the process was "well underway.” "Recovery, despite the horrific nature of the disaster, does provide an opportunity to build back better and address the development challenges that had been with these communities for quite some time."

Agence Europe also reports that on Monday, the European Commission detailed plans for €323 million of its €350 million post-tsunami reconstruction program, which will be delivered over the coming two years. €12 million has been immediately released under the Rapid Reaction Mechanism (RRM) to kick-start this longer-term reconstruction work, building on the EU's first phase of €123 million in humanitarian aid, explains External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner in a press release. The aid is divided as follows: in Indonesia, €208 million will support the Government of Indonesia's Multi-Donor Trust Fund and strengthen the capacity of local government in Aceh; In Sri Lanka, up to €100 million will be provided for two main areas - up to €60 million to support reconstruction in the north and east and €40 million for rebuilding the coastal road in the south; In the Maldives, €17 million will help to restart livelihoods and to repair damaged housing on affected atolls and €25 million will fund regional and horizontal activities, including a tsunami EU Coastal Zone Management Facility.

The Washington Post meanwhile reports that Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the Indonesian official who oversees earthquake and tsunami reconstruction, has charged that government funding for recovery after the December disaster has been delayed in parliament while hundreds of thousands of survivors are desperate for help. Kuntoro said in an interview over the weekend with The Washington Post that the lack of government funds has forced him to rely on foreign donors to begin housing, employment and other projects. "It's shocking, but it seems that nobody can do anything significant there because there's no government money," said Kuntoro. "Now we are focusing on getting donor funds while we wait for the national budget."

While Kuntoro has accused parliament of delays in providing money for new housing and jobs, Indonesian parliamentary and ministry officials say the government funds, about $600 million, should be available by July. That money is part of a $5 billion, four-year government reconstruction program. Emir Muis, chairman of the parliament's budget committee, disputed Kuntoro's allegations. The money will be approved "very soon, not longer than one month, before the middle of June," he said. But, he added, "Mr. Kuntoro has to come to us and make an explanation" for the funds. Kuntoro said that he asked the parliament to fast-track emergency funding for Aceh, but expected that it would not act before September. "They haven't given me any indication that there is a strong push to quicken the process," he said. "The issue is whether they have a sense of urgency or not. I need those politicians in Jakarta to make Aceh an urgent priority." In the meantime, his agency is working with more than $1 billion in private funds.

The reconstruction effort coincides with attempts to increase transparency and combat corruption in the Finance Ministry and in the budget process, according to donor organizations and government officials. "It's hard to imagine a more difficult situation," said Andrew Steer, the Country Director for the World Bank. notas_de_prensa_archivo