The workshop concept: Why this workshop was important

Background

Following the tsunami, international and national institutions and organizations helped affected countries resume activities in agriculture, fisheries and forestry with the aim of restoring shattered livelihoods.

Several projects were initiated to assess the damages in all the affected countries covering all sectors. The data collected from these studies served as baseline information for planning, coordination and implementation of tsunami emergency and rehabilitation operations. However, due to the increasing number of emergency and rehabilitation projects in all the affected countries, it was important to coordinate the activities for efficient use of funds and to provide the required assistance in a timely manner.

To facilitate the coordination of rehabilitation and reconstruction activities, the respective governments established emergency committees, followed by more institutionalized units such as Disaster Management Centres, Task Forces and Bureaus. For effective coordination and planning of future rehabilitation activities, information and information management are essential prerequisites. In this context, FAO initiated a regional project entitled “Regional Coordination and Information Management on Strategies for Early Recovery of Agriculture in Coastal Regions” to focus on improving the information systems and institutional capacity of the tsunami affected countries to support their efforts for medium to long-term planning and to coordinate, monitor and implement livelihoods rehabilitation interventions (specifically relating to matters that involve all three sectors, i.e. agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

Through this project, substantial support was provided in consolidating, analysing and reporting the available information as well as providing advice on the key issues related to rehabilitation such as gaps in knowledge or targeting, trends and best practices. The activities initiated by the project fall into two broad categories: i) collection, synthesis and dissemination of relevant information (such as assessments, rehabilitation activities, best practices and guidelines) and ii) strengthening of information, communication and coordination systems at national and regional levels and strengthening of related institutional capacities.

With these issues in focus, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific convened a regional workshop to bring together national and international institutions and organizations from Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand to assess the present status of coordination activities, and to share experiences and knowledge for development of future plans and strategies for coordination and information management towards the longer-term rehabilitation of the agriculture fisheries and forestry sectors.

Goal and objectives of the workshop

The overall goal of the proposed workshop was to examine and review the current situation with regard to coordination and information management in tsunami rehabilitation activities of the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors and to use the lessons learned for planning future interventions for sustainable development of all three sectors.

The specific objectives of the workshop were to:

• review the progress and achievements of the FAO project on information management and its impact on national efforts to manage information and coordinate rehabilitation activities;
• review the information management and coordination efforts in each participating country including those implemented by the governments and other stakeholders in tsunami emergency and rehabilitation activities; and
• discuss the way forward in terms of information management, exchange and coordination mechanisms for future work, especially moving from rehabilitation to longer-term development initiatives in agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

Outputs

The workshop provided an overall summary of the status of coordination and information management of tsunami rehabilitation actions in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors as a basis for discussion and formulation of a strategy to address outstanding issues. On this basis, the outputs included:

• Progress, achievements and impact of the FAO information management project assessed.
• Overall status of the coordination mechanisms and information management in each country reviewed and their future directions identified.
• Opportunities for further development and improvement of coordination mechanisms best suited for each country in line with the “build back better” strategy identified.
• Various options and mechanisms for coordination and exchange of information amongst affected countries and collaborating institutions and organizations identified.

Partners and participants

The workshop and follow-up activities were conducted in collaboration with experienced and qualified staff of government agencies and international organizations in Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. This workshop gave priority to participation and presentations of those stakeholders who have dealt with coordination of rehabilitation activities at the field level.