Press release

December 20, 2006

Not too late to get it right on tsunami housing says ActionAid

Governments and NGOs must do more to involve survivors of the 2004 tsunami in decisions over the planning and building of new homes, if the reconstruction process is to be a success, anti-poverty agency ActionAid urged today.

According to United Nations reports, the tsunami displaced over 1.8 million people and severely damaged or destroyed over 580,000 homes. Two years on 200,000 houses have been rebuilt, repaired or are currently under construction – as major challenges including legal constraints and dispute over land continue to affect the pace of reconstruction.

But, as ActionAid experience shows, many of these problems can be overcome by consulting local communities.

“One of the most critical lessons from the tsunami housing so far is that where survivors participate from start to finish in the construction process we end up with homes that people want, in a design that suits their lifestyle and a location that allows them to continue earning a living,” says Ravi Pratap Singh, ActionAid’s international tsunami programme advisor.

“Governments of all tsunami affected countries have signed up to declarations to protect and promote people’s right to adequate housing. Forgetting this in the midst of disaster response not only results in abuse and neglect of survivors’ human rights but also spells failure for housing projects.”

“With the bulk of reconstruction by governments and NGOs set to take place in 2007 it is not too late to get tsunami housing right,” adds Singh.

In Tamil Nadu, southern India, a recent fact-finding mission by the Housing and Land Rights Network documented cases of housing designed with no private bathing area. While men were comfortable bathing outdoors, women felt their safety and dignity were highly compromised.

Other housing models reviewed did not provide space or ventilation for traditional cooking with firewood resulting in families cooking outside while ‘kitchen’ spaces lie redundant. In one instance two-story housing blocks stand empty after an organisation failed to heed advice from fishing families that such a structure is alien to their way of life.

The fact-finding team also applauded housing initiatives by some NGOs, including ActionAid local partner Social Need Education and Human Awareness (SNEHA), in which fishing families were supported to build homes in their original location, close to the sea and their livelihoods. The state government had said it would not fund reconstruction of homes near the sea and was instead offering houses up to four kilometers inland.

“The key is for construction to be owner – not donor-driven, involving communities at all stages in the process, from choosing where they want to live, to developing designs, selecting materials and monitoring the construction,” says Sajeev PB, head of ActionAid’s tsunami response team in Tamil Nadu, India.

“Putting local communities in the driving seat can also help to ensure quality standards are met. We have felt the benefit of this in Sri Lanka and India where ‘vigilance committees’ of women and men have been trained to spot shoddy construction,” says Fatimath Afiya of ActionAid’s International Tsunami Management Team.

“In Kanyakumari, India the government said no suitable coastal land was available and urged communities to accept new homes 500 meters or more inland citing safety reasons. Fishing families said this would destroy their livelihood, making them more vulnerable. After a long period of negotiations, land for 30 houses was made available. Homes are complete and families move in this week,” said Sajeev PB.

Communities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where no permanent housing has yet been built, hit the headlines in November 2006. Dozens were injured after police responded violently to protests against government housing plans.

In-depth consultations on three islands have revealed important questions over the location, design and cost of almost 10,000 proposed new homes. Islanders are also challenging the decision to use contract labour from the mainland rather than providing local jobs.

Traditional buildings on the earthquake-prone islands have withstood previous disasters very well and there are many highly skilled carpenters within the tribal groups.

“Another lesson for future tsunami reconstruction is to provide adequate space around the houses. Habitat planning has so far largely been ignored but human rights standards clearly state that homes should have basic services, be close to people’s livelihoods and have space for recreation and domestic use. It’s not too late to get this right,” says Ravi Pratap Singh.
 
Notes to editors:

ActionAid’s tsunami response, in partnership with 60 local organisations in India, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Thailand and Somalia, reached out to more than 717,000 persons in 2005 and continues to work with more than 433,000 survivors to support their recovery.

ActionAid received  £31.7 million from people in the UK via the Disaster’s Emergency Committee and generous support from individuals and organisations in Europe and America.

As part of a three-year response, ActionAid invested £18million by end of October 2006 in relief, rehabilitation of livelihoods and construction of homes. This figure is expected to rise to more than £20million by the end of 2006, which is 64 percent of the total resources for our three year plan.

ActionAid is building homes with groups left out by government housing projects and those who want to remain close to their livelihoods.

ActionAid is also supporting local people in challenging threats to their homes and livelihoods such as the new ‘Coastal Zone Management’ in India, which does not recognise the traditional rights of fishing communities. And the Sea-food Bank Project in Thailand that aims to convert sea areas that are currently a common resource into private ownership for fish farms and production of marine products.

ActionAid is part of an international campaign with the United Nations and Save the Children to teach disaster preparedness in schools and is calling on authorities to work with coastal communities so that early warning systems reach the ‘last mile’ allowing people to live safely by the sea and continue their livelihoods.

For the report ‘Assessing Post-Tsunami Reconstruction in Andaman and Nicobar Islands’

For United Nations reports on shelter and resettlement: www.tsunamispecialenvoy.org
For Housing and Land Rights Network tsunami fact finding mission reports: www.hic-sarp.org

ENDS