A ripple in development? - Channel Research

7.4 The economic effect of aid is significant but not targeted
The linkages have had a significant effect on the economic performance
of relief and recovery efforts within communities, but have not occurred
as the result of intention and design. In Aceh (and to a far lesser extent
in Nias, due to its relative geographic isolation) the humanitarian effort
resulted in an effective livelihood security protection (reconstitution of
lost assets) and could ensure handover to development actors thanks to
an expanding economy. However, the focus of aid flows in general has
been on areas that were both affected and more accessible (Banda Aceh
and not Nias), which shows partial relevance to real need.
On the other hand in Sri Lanka and the Maldives the transition
from relief to livelihoods is much more tenuous, as regards aid programmes.
This is due to the absence of adequate linkages within rehabilitation
programmes to markets and structural programmes which has
stemmed from an insufficient knowledge of contextual realities regarding
the needs and vulnerabilities of different livelihood groups.
In the Maldives on the other hand, while the (worst affected) sector
of tourism has been able to recover to pre-tsunami levels thanks to the
availability of massive private sector resources, small-scale and often
home-based livelihood activities such as agriculture, home gardening,
tailoring etc. undertaken by women on the islands have found it much
harder to recover. This has been largely due to the relative isolation of
these island communities from the main markets in the capital, Male, as
well as to repeated displacement caused by the relocation of entire communities
from temporary shelters to new ‘safer’ islands after a period of
four years.
The post-tsunami reconstruction programmes had a significant
economic impact, pouring large amounts of money into the local economies.
This was particularly evident in Aceh were national flows have
been greater than international flows. However, impact beyond the construction
boom is much harder to find.
Humanitarian aid agencies, with limited expertise and resources
for long term planning, and have been hampered by poor public policies.
In LRRD, there is no clear distinction for the type of poverty or
vulnerability which should be targeted at a given phase, with the result
that different objectives are being pursued, sometimes with contradictory
results.
Linkages have had a clear effect where market conditions could be
reinstated, but disparities between areas remain a challenge. Where
there is little market access for the population the benefits of relief wear
off over time, and development does not begin. The organisations that
work at the grass roots are ill equipped for long term planning, and further
hampered by poor public policies and lack of access to the populations.
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