The next wave. Outcomes of the regional workshop on information management and coordination mechanisms of tsunami emergency and rehabilitation operations in agriculture, fisheries and forestry
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Some say the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004 was the most reported and well-funded disaster in history. Hundreds of humanitarian organizations, several thousand military troops from a dozen countries and hundreds of millions of dollars were pledged to aid the stricken countries. Two years on, much of the physical damage has been repaired. Most of the people affected have re-established their livelihoods, some with more success than others. The emergency response phase is over and go vernments are now looking beyond recovery and rehabilitation to long-term development. One of the major challenges for governments is to apply the lessons learnt from this disaster to national development plans, including disaster planning. The costs related to natural disasters are now 15 times higher than they were in the 1950s. A portion of these costs can be traced back to ineffective information management and coordination mechanisms. The tsunami highlighted its central role in effective re sponse, recovery and rehabilitation. The many and general specific obstacles to information gathering are now well documented. It remains to be seen if these lessons can be taken to heart. We cannot know when the next disaster will strike. We can be almost sure there will be more disasters. The only rational response is to have our information management and coordination mechanisms in place before the next disaster. These proceedings document the discussions of some of the central actors in the emergency response, recovery and rehabilitation efforts in Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Present at the forum – convened in Bangkok, Thailand from 30 October to 1 November 2006 – were senior representatives from the key government agencies responsible for coordination and delivery of aid, senior project managers from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and representatives from a number of involved international and regional organizations.