A ripple in development? - Channel Research

Shelter and housing have been salient aspects of relief and rehabilitation
programmes in terms of volumes and perceptions: 44% of
respondents to our survey in Aceh see housing as the priority item. Of all
aspects of life, the tsunami was particularly damaging to habitat. In Indonesia
alone, it destroyed 127,325 homes, and damaged 151,000 more 52 .
At the time of writing in all three countries people remain displaced
where reconstruction has not yet been completed – or in some
cases, not yet started 53 . In December 2008 the Asian Development Bank
Institute 54 states that 30,000 houses remained to be built.
BRR officials have praised the fact that at the time of the evaluation
more than 120,000 homes, 3,500 kilometers of roads, 266 bridges,
20 ports, 12 airports, 954 health facilities, 1,450 school buildings and
979 public offices had been reconstructed. But the process clearly
remains incomplete 55 .
This means that the process of community reconstruction is still
ongoing, or that new communities have been created. In densely-populated
parts of suburban Colombo, where people migrated to seek assistance,
as well as in Ampara and in most affected sites in the north, many
are still in temporary shelter, with little hope of getting permanent
homes soon. This combines with displacement caused by war in both
Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and points to the central nature of housing.
A high number of survey respondents in Sri Lanka (31%) indicated
that access to new housing was still a major problem whereas it was
significantly lower (18%) in Aceh where very few people remain in temporary
shelter. In some islands of the Maldives (Meemu Kolufushi and
Gaaf Alif Vilinghili, Nilandhoo and Dhandhoo) people remain displaced
in temporary shelters where reconstruction has not yet started 56 .
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BAPPENAS (2005)
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The end of 2008 figures are:
• Sri Lanka’s total IDP caseload includes the 182,802 post-April 2006 IDPs, another 272,712
individuals displaced by conflict prior to the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), and an estimated
26,073 Tsunami IDPs for a total of 481,587. In addition, there are 21,677 Sri Lankan refugees
in India including 1,240 who have arrived in India since January 2008. (Source: UN Country
Humanitarian Action Plan, CHAP, August 2008, reported by IDMC, 27 August 2008).
• Aceh (conflict IDPs): As of early 2009, the number of IDPs in Aceh is unknown. In 2008, the
Department of Social Affairs estimated that 1,500 households, or roughly 7,500 individuals, were
still unable to return either because of insecurity or because their houses had been destroyed during
the conflict. All were located in Bener Meriah regency (ICMC, 2008). Early 2009, the number
of households still waiting for housing assistance, a large number of whom would be IDPs, is estimated
at 6,300 households, or roughly 30,000 people (Daily Aceh, 26 January 2009).
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Reconstruction after a Major Disaster: Lessons from the Post-Tsunami Experience in Indonesia,
Sri Lanka, and Thailand, 2008
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In Indonesia, 120,000 homes were reconstructed, which is 600,000 individuals (with an average
of 5 people per household, using the CRED criteria for national disasters). Out of the roughly
1 million tsunami-related IDPs, this indicates that a further 400,000 individuals (80,000 households)
still do not have houses rebuilt, ie. They remain displaced. However, the ADB report
suggests that only 30,000 houses remain to be built, indicating that 150,000 people will remain
displaced. Maldives: Approximately 5,000 tsumani IDPs out of 12,000 initially displaced (MIDP,
Government of the Maldives, November 2008 statistics)
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NDMC (National Disaster Management Centre, Management of IDPs department). This was set up
the day after the tsunami by MNDF – the ministry entitled Maldives National Defense Force.
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