A ripple in development? - Channel Research

7 Conclusions
The conclusions here are structured by returning first to the premises of
the international and national responses to natural disasters, and weighing
the influence of LRRD against other factors. The second section
reviews the finding of LRRD1 in 2006 to see what changes have
occurred over time in LRRD itself. The subsequent chapters draw out
key findings from each one of the themes, establishing linkages that
could lead to effective LRRD.
7.1 The need for linkages to be based on structural analyses
The comprehensive focus of the present evaluation on the broad spectrum
of recovery efforts still only covers a relatively small part of all the
contributions made to the improvement of the situation on the ground.
The Document Review even concludes that despite the dramatic nature
of the tsunami, it is clear that contextual issues are a bigger constraint
on development than the tsunami or its aftermath.
Referring to health and education in Aceh, a World Bank study
noted that “striking long-term structural problems outweigh the shortterm
challenges after the tsunami” 99 . Conflict and structural issues have
had a larger impact than the relief effort on achieving population
focused outcomes. In Chapter 2 on the state and civil society for example,
we have noted that at all levels structural factors prevail, whether it
be the difficulties in implementing decentralisation policies, the fragile
status of national civil societies, the political dynamics of the ending of
conflict, and weak accountability in the affected areas.
This confirms that it is the overall development dynamics (be they
structural or from conflict), rather than the “ripple” of the tsunami
response, which are the predominant forces of recovery after such a
99
World Bank. (2006a). Aceh Public Expenditure Analysis – Spending for Reconstruction and Poverty
Reduction. World Bank. Last viewed on 27 October 2008.
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