Conclusions and recommendations

Background

Four working groups were formed on the first day of the workshop, each focusing on a number of countries as follows:

1. India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives
2. Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh
3. Indonesia, Malaysia
4. Regional

Three sessions were held during the course of the workshop, with individuals remaining in the same group throughout. In the first session, groups identified key coastal area planning and management issues in tsunami-affected areas that affect agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and then selected the five most important. During the second session, the five selected issues were elaborated and associated economic, social and environmental aspects were outlined. The third session was used to generate recommendations in relation to the five key issues.

Conclusions

• While noting the devastation caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami — particularly with respect to the livelihoods of people living in coastal communities, their resources and environment — there is now an opportunity to “build back better” and to improve coastal area planning and management.
• The workshop recognizes the importance of the transition between the relief and long-term development phases now taking place in tsunami-hit areas.
• The predominantly sectoral nature of rehabilitation and development efforts with respect to both national and regional level activities was noted, as well as the need for increased application of cross-sectoral approaches to coastal area planning and management.

Recommendations for action

• To integrate disaster management with coastal area planning and management particularly by:

➣ developing and linking disaster early warning systems;

➣ enhancing existing systems for early warning; and

➣ promoting initiatives to support disaster management, e.g. establishment/rehabilitation of buffer zones or green belts, considering their multifunctionality.

• To establish/strengthen coordination mechanisms, dialogues and partnerships in support of coastal area planning and management across sectors and at all levels by:

➣ encouraging initiatives to ensure national integrated coastal area planning and management, considering local social, economic and ecological dimensions;

➣ identifying and supporting a national focal point to lead the integrated planning process and associated monitoring and revision;

➣ strengthening and mobilizing existing intergovernmental mechanisms and frameworks, for example ASEAN and SAARC, as well as other regional collaborative mechanisms and arrangements, to support coastal area planning and management;

➣ improving coordination through development of an agreed framework to identify roles of regional/international organizations;

➣ organizing regional cross-sectoral dialogues and coordination mechanisms to generate lessons learned and synthesize information on a regular basis;

➣ supporting existing frameworks to re-inforce national level policy, planning and coordination, e.g. CONSRN (the Consortium to Restore Shattered Livelihoods in Tsunami Devastated Nations);

➣ facilitating negotiation, trade-offs and balancing of policy/objectives at various geographical levels, recognizing that less powerful stakeholders may need support; and

➣ creating an enabling environment and incentive system to support coordination, dialogue and partnership.

• To develop better knowledge-based systems to support coastal area planning and management, particularly:

➣ develop standards and information management systems to support data, information and knowledge sharing;

➣ support information gathering beyond impact assessment for strategic planning and decision-making during the rehabilitation phase and thereafter;

➣ collate and efficiently manage relevant data, information and knowledge, and promote better application and dissemination of analysed/synthesized output;

➣ establish national frameworks for social vulnerability and risk assessment;

➣ continue interdisciplinary research on environmentally friendly reconstruction of coastal zones;

➣ assess empirical experience and fully utilize existing available and emerging knowledge to inform policy processes; and

➣ revise, update and disseminate FAO guidelines on integrated coastal area management.

• To support good governance to facilitate coastal area planning and management, considering:

➣ political commitment towards improved coastal area planning and management;

➣ the need for legislative reform and implementation, including adoption of land-/resource-use rights;

➣ community participation and learning, and co-management; and

➣ the role and capacity of key stakeholders, including NGOs and the private sector, to support improved coastal area planning and management.

• To build capacity for coastal area planning and management at all levels, particularly by:

➣ educating key actors, for example, policy-makers, the media, the general public, donor agencies and religious leaders, on progress and impacts of rehabilitation, and the situation and needs at the local level;

➣ strengthening communities and local-level institutions through better organization and empowerment, particularly with respect to coastal development planning and land-/resource-use management; and

➣ ensure that resources and capacity adequately support improved coastal area planning and management.