Map of Tsunami affected areas

INDIA

HUMAN LIFE LOST

1,000 to 7,000 ANDHRA PRADESH 500 to 1,000 Visakhapatnam 100 to 500 TOLL: 107 10 to 50 POP. AFFECTED: 196000 0 to 10 East Godavari West Godavari Krishna Guntur Parkasham

Nellore ANDAMAN & Thiruvallur NICOBAR ISLANDS Kancheepuram TOLL: 3513 Villupuram POP. AFFECTED: 356000 Pondicherry TOLL: 599 Nagapattinam POP. AFFECTED: 43000 Karaikal

Ernakulam Tiruvarur

Allappuzha TOLL: 8009 Kollam Thoothukudi KERALA POP. AFFECTED: 897000 TOLL: 177 Tirunelveli POP. AFFECTED: 1300000 Kanyakumari

0 250 500 kilometers

For more information about the UNTRS please contact: United Nations Team for Recovery Support Apex Towers, 54, 2nd Main Road, R.A.Puram 600 028 Tel: +91 44 42 303 551 e-mail: [email protected] Contents - Quarterly Report April 2006

1 Editorial...... page 4

Water & Sanitation 2 Source of health, source of sickness STORY: Access to clean water - essential beyond any emergency...... page 5

Health & Nutrition 3 Surveillance of communicable diseases Basic health care for people living in temporary shelters...... page 6

Psychosocial support 4 Support for mind and soul Alcohol and substance abuse...... page 7

Livelihood 5 One stop shop...... page 8

Education 6 Educational intervention in the Tsunami affected districts Training for Confidence...... page 9

Shelter & Habitat 7 Disaster resistant housing Study for good practices...... page 10

Trafficking & HIV/AIDS 8 HIV/AIDS high risk in the Tsunami affected areas Special programme for women and girls ...... page 12

Disaster Risk Management Learning how to respond to and be prepared for disasters 9 Several kinds of training to enhance preparedness STORY: To rescue oneself and others...... page 14

Policy support 10 Coordination and sharing of information STORY: Community Radio - Giving a voice to the voiceless...... page 16

Environment 11 Forgotten Environment Better use of the Coastal Zone Regulation...... page 18

We’d like to thank the following Donors: American Foundation (AIF), Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID), European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO), Ford Foundation, French Committee for UNICEF, Global Thematic Humanitarian Fund, Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF, Japan Government, United Nations Foundation (UNF) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

3 1 Editorial

One and a half years have passed since a massive Tsunami struck the coastal areas of countries around the Indian Ocean. In India alone, over 12,000 people lost their lives and the destruction and damage of public and private property was enormous. An immediate joint assessment of the situation was conducted by the Government of India with the participation of the United Nations, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. From the beginning the Government of India successfully led the large scale relief and recovery efforts and with the help of an extraordinary international response a lot has been achieved during the past 18 months. Basic social services have been restored including the provision of psychosocial care to thousands of people to learn how to deal with the mental impact of losing loved ones, losing property or by having gone through such a catastrophic event; livelihoods of fisherman and other affected groups were put back on track and immediate shelter has been provided to thousands of families, with the provision of permanent housing underway.

From the start, the United Nations Agencies worked closely together, formulating jointly an inter-agency response which is outlined in the UN Tsunami Recovery Framework 2005 - 2007. The UN agencies alone have since mobilized more than 46 million US dollars and have supported the relief efforts of the Indian Government in many key areas in order to build back better. Now, after 18 months, the work is shifting from the provision of emergency relief to long-term and sustainable development assistance. Still a lot has to be done and many of the recovery programmes are only gaining momentum now. Current UN joint programmes are addressing issues related to health and nutrition, HIV/AIDS and trafficking, policies to support permanent shelter, basic education, creation of durable livelihoods in the fisheries and non-fisheries sectors, water and sanitation and environmental protection. Basic human rights principles are applied to all areas of programming, such as ensuring social equity in order to avoid uneven distribution of the development benefits to different social groups. Another important area of work focuses on future disaster risk management, aimed at building capacities of government S

R and communities to mitigate the impact of future disasters. T

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o To keep reminding the world that supporting the affected t o h population goes way beyond the immediate relief, the p Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, has appointed former US President William J. Clinton as the Special Envoy for Tsunami Rehabilitation. In February this year Eric Schwartz, Mr. Clintons Deputy, traveled to India to get an overall view about the recovery efforts and possible issues attached. Eric Schwartz visited temporary shelters in North Chennai where he was moved by the resilience of countless tsunami survivors who described how they had been uprooted from their homes on four A future to hold on to: Deputy Special Envoy Eric Schwartz(r.) and Gagandeep Singh Bedi, District Collector of , inspect the separate occasions, first from the tsunami and then by new house for this Tsunami affected family. floods caused by the recent monsoons and finally by fires. He visited newly built permanent houses for a fisher community in Devanapattinam, Cuddalore and met with NGO and UN officials working on ensuring that the rebuilding efforts in India are environmentally friendly. Speaking about India's efforts to launch an early warning system in July this year, Eric Schwartz said in a press statement: “One of the first lessons we learned from the tsunami is that early warning saves lives. I am very pleased that the Government of India is part of the region's commitment to ensuring that an effective regional early warning system is in place this summer. Equally important is the Government of India's implementation of a UNDP community based disaster preparedness program which targets 169 multi-hazard prone districts in 17 states, including Tamil Nadu,” he added. Introducing myself I joined the UN team in Chennai as the UN Tsunami Coordinator early March 2006 and it is my role to guide the UN agencies during this transition phase, ensuring an efficient, effective and well coordinated implementation of the UN Tsunami Recovery Framework. All agencies currently still involved in the recovery work, including UNICEF, UNDP, FAO, ILO, WHO, UNESCO and UNFPA, continue this effort of joint programming, making best use of each agency's strengths, creating synergies, and reducing transaction costs. Excellent cooperation with the Government and continued support of our donors has been very instrumental to the success of this process. This publication provides an update of the current state of UN's Tsunami recovery support to the Government of India. It outlines in greater detail what I have introduced above and I am sure you will find it useful and informative. Thank you.

Pieter Bult, . UN Coordinator UN Team for Recovery Support

4 2 Water and Sanitation

U P D A T E SOURCE OF HEALTH, SOURCE OF SICKNESS

S Water is the source of designed to provide safe drinking water to families in R T

N wellbeing and of sickness interim shelters, schools as well as the so-called U

: o t alike. When the Tsunami Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) o h p struck, the ground water centres. Quantity and quality of water available to was polluted and spoiled by families in shelters has to improve and the access to sea water. Clean water sanitary toilets in interim shelters, schools and ICDS Water: a precious commodity sources and sanitary, centres need to be guaranteed. Other goals are to hygienic conditions are vital for good health. Hence, establish solid and liquid waste management UNICEF is active in the matter of water, sanitation systems in temporary shelters and to improve and hygiene. The goal of the water and sanitation hygiene education in shelters, homes, schools and programme in the Tsunami relief and recovery is to ICDS centres.To reach these objectives, shelter- create a safe environment for children and based activities, school sanitation as well as significantly reduce the risk of waterborne diseases hygiene education and promotion have been like diarrhoea, which are spread by contaminated implemented in 92 shelters in seven Tsunami water and unsanitary conditions. Activities were affected districts and schools.

S T O R Y ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER - ESSENTIAL BEYOND ANY EMERGENCY A training supported by UNICEF in Cuddalore people live in temporary shelters, like Minnalkodi. district enables participants to learn how to She was selected to motivate shelter residents monitor the quality of water in their respective towards positive water and sanitation as well as home towns and villages. . hygiene behaviour. In her community, she is responsible for 50 families. Her village, like others, S R

T has been badly hit by the Tsunami on December

N th U

: 26 2004. But due to the fast response from the o t o

h District, Government, the NGOs and the volunteers, p the population in theaffected areas did not suffer from any diseasesor epidemics that could have been triggered by polluted water sources. . Creating awareness But clean water is essential beyond any emergency. The first affected by a lack of safe water are women and children. Therefore, UNICEF in collaboration with NGOs and the Government has launched a water and sanitation programme to provide safe water, to create good sanitary conditions and to

Learning how to test and monitor water quality promote hygiene practices in shelters, schools and homes. The training in Cuddalore is part of this Mrs. Chandrika, the assistant water analyst of the programme and a hands-on training on 'water Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Training Support testing', using field water testing kits developed by holds up a small plastic container with water. She the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board asks people in the class room: “How's the colour? Is (TWAD). During the training, the participants are the water pure? Does it smell?” About 50 men and taught to interpret the 'water quality data'. Testing will women are present on this day in March 2006. They be conducted once in three months. The participants have come to attend the training programme on will also ensure proper chlorination practice by the water quality testing, monitoring and its impact on community or the local body, creating awareness health status in Tsunami affected villages in among the public and take joint efforts to maintain the . The participants are quality of water and prevent outbreak of waterborne representatives from NGO partners, coordinators of diseases. Says Minnalkodi: “This training is 90 rural development as well as health inspectors from percent effective. I will now go and use my new primary health centres in their respective towns. knowledge in my village. Then it will be 100 percent There are also volunteers from villages where effective”. .

5 3 Health and Nutrition

U P D A T E SURVEILLANCE OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES The Tsunami affected health infrastructure vitamin A to 103,629 children. In an emergency considerably. Primary Health Centres and Sub- situation, the surveillance of communicable centres (peripheral health care facilities in the rural diseases is one of the most important activities. An areas of districts run by the Government) were Operations Room at the India Country Office of the damaged by the seawater. In Nagapattinam, for World Health Organisation in New Delhi was in example, a district hospital was severely damaged, continuous contact with the surveillance teams at the including facilities for obstetric care and District level in the affected States. management of obstetric complications. Nearly 65 childcare centres - known as Anganwadi centres, or WHO had established Disease Surveillance Units in AWCs - were destroyed and 43 were partially the four most-affected districts of Tamil Nadu to keep damaged. The UN agencies supported Government a close watch on the disease pattern. In addition, efforts in the shelters for the Tsunami affected. In the another eight Disease Surveillance Units were immediate aftermath UNICEF in collaborationwith established at district level in Andhra Pradesh, WHO provided measles vaccination and Pondicherry and Kerala.

N E W S

BASIC HEALTH CARE FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN TEMPORARY SHELTERS S

After the relief phase, one of the main issues is to provide basic health care R T

to the people still living in temporary shelters. As the timeline for the N U

: o

reconstruction of damaged houses is uncertain, the affected population t o h

will be residing in temporary shelters for an extended period. The need p therefore, is to strengthen the provision of basic healthcare services, by strengthening the outreach services. Provision of basic sanitation, vector control (measures to control the carriers

S of disease organisms, such as R T

N mosquitoes and houseflies,which help in U

:

o the spread of diseases.) and water t o

h quality monitoring are also crucial. p Support is being provided by WHO to strengthen the outreach services by supporting the visits of mobile healthcare teams and introducing the use of drugs Healthy food is essential as per the Indian System of Medicine for children's well being (ISM), in the districts of Cuddalore and Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. Technical assistance has also been provided to district authorities in order to strengthen monitoring of drinking water quality, hygiene education and waste management in Nagapattinam, Kanyakumari and Karaikal. The state is renovating the damaged District Hospital, Primary Health Centres and HSCs, and is replacing lost equipment and other amenities with support from the National Calamity Relief Fund, Health System Development Project, RCH II program, UNFPA and UNICEF. A play to promote breast feeding

L I N K NUTRITIONAL SITUATION IN ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS A major innovation in the Tsunami hit areas of Andaman and Nicobar has been the selection and training of 1748 community-based childcare centre (Anganwadi) volunteers to support Anganwadi workers in delivering grass root level nutrition services and in identifying children who have not been reached. UNICEF provided weighing scales, growth charts, height measuring boards and play material to 878 centres. http://www.unicef.org

6 4 Psychosocial Support

U P D A T E

SUPPORT FOR MIND AND SOUL

In response to the adverse mental impact on many recent past, distribution of over 1055 play kits was people due to the loss of close relatives and undertaken through Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) and damages to personal property, UN agencies they are being used in community level play developed an effective response for providing activities.After school, play activities are conducted psychosocial support to the affected population. in nearly 175 villages by trained NYK volunteers. With the technical assistance of WHO and the Programmes such as children's theatre, painting

S workshops and puppet shows also continue to be R

T conducted to supplement the initiatives aimed at N U

addressing psychosocial care issues. Currently, : o t

o efforts to streamline psychosocial care programme h p with NYK is being made by way of focusing on a limited number of villages, being covered under the present project, and building the volunteers capacities on Child Protection issues. The volunteers are being orientated on Child Protection issues. Further intensive training is being planned. Focus on child protection Training of Volunteers on Child Protection issues is going to be the focus in the present quarter. Plans for Performing for others can help to regain confidence in oneself training youth volunteers associated with the NGO, support of UNFPA, USAID as well as UNDP, a Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) on psychosocial issues psychosocial monitoring cell has been established in and child protection issues is planned.The focus of the Department of Social Welfare of the Government the programme is on building the capacities of NYK of Tamil Nadu. The strategy for strengthening referral to address Child Protection issues. Preparations are linkages has been developed by the Department of also made for organising life skills programmes in a Social Welfare and the Department of Health and limited number of villages as supplement to Family Welfare in collaboration with the WHO and psychosocial care programme.

UNDP. This will facilitate better and faster attention to S R the persons referred by the psychosocial workers T N U

who need medical care for their psychological : o t problems. A total of 151,424 individuals had been o h provided psychosocial first aid by Dec. 2005 through p 2813 Volunteers trained through the above initiative

Play to regain confidence

1000 volunteers and 1300 teachers have been trained by UNICEF to reach out to over 300 villages and are now being streamlined to include child protection issues. In Tamil Nadu, the programme is estimated to have benefited, through its various components, approximately 80000 children, whereas in Kerala, the programme reached out to approximately 15000 children. In Tamil Nadu, in the Dancing at a child centre in Cuddalore N E W S ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Projects aimed at psychosocial interventions to address alcohol and substance abuse for special groups (including adults and adolescents) in Tsunami affected populations are going to be supported by WHO in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in the years 2006 and 2007.

7 5 Livelihood

U P D A T E ONE STOP SHOP

Efforts to rebuild livelihood are inclusive, and target welfare measures, weatherforecasts as well as all the coastal communities, whether directly or agricultural pricing and more. With the support from indirectly, dependant on the fishing occupation. ILO sub-regional Office for South Asia, the Indian Measures to revive the local economy are essential National Rural Labour Federation has constructed in this context, so that activities aimed at the VTCs cum Workers Information Centre (WIC) at Tharagambadi in the District of Nagapattinam. Another restoration of livelihoods take place in a sustainable VTC cum Workers Information Centre was way. In the recent months, various efforts have taken constructed by the Centre of Indian Trade Union at place within the affected communities. A joint project Kulasekaram in the southern District of Kanyakumari. of ILO and the International Confederation of Free S

Trade Unions-Asia Pacific Regional Organisation is R T N

a vocational training, where 40 Tsunami affected U

: o students are trained in Desk Top Publishing at the t o h

Small Industries Service Institute in Chennai. p Two Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) were inaugurated on March 2006 in the Tsunami affected districts. The objective of the VTCs is to organise need-based vocational training and skill development programmes for the affected people in and around all the districts. The venues should also be “one stop shops” for the workers to gather information regarding Government schemes, Decorative objects made by women of a self help group S R T N U

: o t o h p

A busy day in the harbour L I N K ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT The construction of the VCTs is, on the one hand, part of the overall strategy to make the resource base for the fishing occupation more sustainable by reducing the current over fishing and improving practices. On the other hand, it should relieve the pressure on the fishermen community by encouraging them to find alternative employment. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/newdelhi/news/tsunami.htm

8 6 Education U P D A T E EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION IN THE TSUNAMI AFFECTED DISTRICTS The Tsunami destroyed and damaged 360 Primary Another consequence of the Tsunami is the fact that and Secondary schools in all the affected states. children seem to drop out of school more often than Based on the assessment of damages caused to before. During an enrolment campaign launched by the educational infrastructure, UN agencies the Government with the support of UNICEF, more supported the Government in restoring normalcy in than 2000 children were identified as school dropouts. This is a much higher figure than the children's lives through timely re-opening and previous year's - which was 628. Therefore, furnishing of schools. With the support of UNICEF, immediate measures had to be taken. 274 schools were supplied with adequate furniture. The students as well as teachers in the schools feel Trained to go back to school that the furniture enables them to perform better. In the so-called “Bridge Course Centres” the school The teachers were trained in reading skills, dropouts are trained for 10 months in order to be able whereas the children were provided with to go back to regular schools. 31 of these centres will appropriate supplementary reading material. In all be supported by UNICEF and the others by the Government. In other Tsunami affected districts, the the 13 districts in Tamil Nadu, affected by the Government Education Department is running the Tsunami, the Government is reconstructing the Bridge Course Centres. The teachers of these damaged schools. In March 2006 life skills training centres were trained in activity-based methodologies (see box below) for girls were held in the District of of teaching to cater to multi-grade levels among Nagapattinam. 50 girls from 7 schools were children, as dropouts are not of the same age and selected to attend this pilot programme. have different educational backgrounds. F E C I N U

: o t o h p

Students using supplementary reading material N E W S TRAINING FOR CONFIDENCE One of the important issues for children, who were affected by the Tsunami, is regaining their confidence. The life skill training does exactly this. The topics, which are covered in such training, concentrate on goal setting, self confidence, time management and other topics. In a recent training held in between March 28th to 30th 2006 a special focus was given on Child Rights and HIV-awareness. The changes in the confidence level of the children were visible by the end of the three days training. During interaction with students, it was interesting to note that the goals set by most of the students were specific. The girls felt, even if they were forced to discontinue their studies, they will convince their parents to allow them to continue their studies, thus achieving their goal. The students and teachers were equally enthusiastic about the programme. Plans are underway to take this training, particularly to the girl students, in the Tsunami affected districts.

9 7 Shelter and Habitat

U P D A T E

DISASTER RESISTANT HOUSING Tamil Nadu, one of the worst hit states in the Tsunami, the publication of the technical guidelines has the mammoth challenge of constructing forconstruction of permanent shelter and habitat by approximately 45,892 permanent houses for the the The housing policy displaced, affected community as quickly as possible. envisages Rs. 150,000 (US$ 3340) per house with a To resettle the affected, the Government formulated a built up area of 300 to 325 sq. ft. The Government of housing policy, under which permanent shelters are to Tamil Nadu has also provided technical guidelines for be built through public-private partnerships respecting the construction of disaster resistant houses for the the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, which executing agencies and organisations. In the next establishes norms for resettlement in coastal areas stage, 43,000 houses are planned to be constructed depending on their distance from the high tide line and with owner driven approach. The latest figures their ecological or historical importance. The regarding the construction efforts in all the affected rehabilitation process has entered a crucial stage with districts in the State of Tamil Nadu are as follows:

District Taken up Completed Handed over Balance (under various stages)

Chennai 3592 2200 ----- 392

Cuddalore 2323 758 407 1158

Kancheepuram 4242 ---- 96 4146

Kanyakumarii 2521 934 494 1093

Nagapattinam 17461 603 475 16383

Thoothukud 781 ------781

Tirunelveli 1778 4 ----- 1774

Tiruvallur 468 468 ------

Viluppuram 1880 317 ----- 1563

35046 5284 1472 28290

Source, Gov. of Tamil Nadu, March 2006 Prime objectives While UNDP has intensified the capacity building ! Contribute policy level inputs by developing programme by taking up training programmes technical guidelines, mainstreaming of disaster through resource agencies and technical experts, resistant features, quality control system, the prime objectives of UNDP are to: insurance mechanism in housing policy and retain ! Promote appropriate disaster resistant building memory and skill by building the capacity of technologies in the Tsunami affected area. community level institutions.

! Strengthen the capacities of key stakeholders of the ! Support the shelter reconstruction effort by building sectors masons, supervisors, engineers, knowledge networking and access to information NGOs, through training and orientation programmes. and resource.

10 Mason training programme on safe building S R T

construction, has been taken up by UNDP with N U resource organisations like Gandhigram Rural : o t o

Institute and COSTFORD. h p The shelter core team formed at the Tamil Nadu Tsunami Resource Centre (TNTRC) platform with representatives from NGOs and State Government have taken up issues pertaining to shelter reconstruction, insurance in shelter reconstruction, quality assurance mechanism, issues in low lying areas. Orientation and training programme for engineers are being taken up periodically at state and district level. A crucial task: Building permanent shelters

N E W S STUDY FOR GOOD PRACTICES Apart from the sheer magnitude of the number of houses to be built, the problem is also compounded by the low-lying layout of the available land and the constraint of distances to which the worst affected, i.e., the fishermen, can be moved without adversely affecting their livelihoods. The only solution is to ensure that the constructions, be it new or retrofittings, follow stringent safety- and quality-norms recommended by the experts and advocated by the State Administration. With construction in full swing in all the affected districts, it was felt that a study has to be done to understand the field level practices, approaches and compliance with the technical guidelines. UNDP and the NGO Coordination Centre in Nagapattinam with cooperation from the State Administration as well as NGOs have jointly launched this study. The purpose of the study is to find, highlight, compile and share among the key stakeholders involved in the reconstruction, various issues and good practices, which are of immense importance during the shelter reconstruction process to improve, modify, change or follow the strategy for larger benefit of the society. The study will assess a sample of habitations to look at various technical and community issues, planning, technical, low lying sites, public buildings, water and sanitation and retrofitting aspects and advocate by sharing the information and findings, to improve, revisit earlier understandings and, if necessary, restrategise and replicate good practices. The study is currently being undertaken in 32 sample habitations in the districts of Nagapattinam, Cuddalore and .

S T O R Y NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR HAZARD RESISTANT BUILDINGS

S A good initiative is the joint partnership of UNDP R

T and the Earth Institute to promote N U

: alternative building material, with incorporation o t o of disaster resistant features. h p A multipurpose community hall has been constructed at the village of Bommayapalayam in Viluppuram district. The Technology Demonstration Unit has demonstrated use of cement stabilised earth blocks as an alternative building material, to the commonly used energy consuming reinforced concrete frame and fired brick masonry. A dozen workers from the local village have been trained on the job. They learned about stabilised rammed earth foundation, laying interlocking Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB) with all features for disaster resistance. The multipurpose hall, designed and executed by the Auroville Earth Institute will be used as a community centre and the model house will be used as an office for the Bommayapalayam: a community centre Panchayat (local Government). built with hazard resistant technologies

11 8 Trafficking and HIV/AIDS

U P D A T E

HIV/AIDS HIGH RISK IN THE TSUNAMI AFFECTED AREAS

In times of crisis, the erosion of social safety nets 2003, Districts in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh leads to an increased vulnerability of women, have been identified as high prevalence Districts. children and adolescent girls in particular. A high Among the general population the prevalence rates prevalence of HIV/AIDS is anticipated in the Tsunami are ranking from 0.13% in Pondicherry to 1.25% in affected areas. However, even before the Tsunami, Andhra Pradesh. The figures stem from antenatal the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the affected states consultations data in sentinel surveillance sites. It is was considered among the highest in India by the generally considered that a rate above 1% indicates National AIDS Control Program (NACP). Already in a generalised epidemic.

TABLE: HIV PREVALENCE RATES IN PERCENT (National Aids Control Organisation, 2003)

General Population Sexually Transmitted Female Sex Injecting (Antenatal Diseases (STD) Workers (FSW) Drug Users Consultations) Patients Consultations (IDUs)

Tamil Nadu 0.75 9.2 8.8 63.8

Pondicherry 0.13 2.6 n/a n/a

Andhra Pradesh 1.25 19.6 19.4 n/a

Kerala 0.33 4.0 2.2 n/a

Andaman & Nicobar 0.50 1.6 n/a n/a

Young people particularly vulnerable

When HIV/AIDS was stated as moving from the high teachers on life skills and HIV/AIDS was provided by risk groups to the general population, sentinel the Directorate of Teacher Education Research and studies revealed that younger people were among Training (DTERT). Advocacy and sensitisation the high risk groups. The children and in particular, programmes were conducted for headmasters and young and adolescent girls, are the most vulnerable the role of Parent Teachers Association was groups and disasters increase the risk for their emphasised.The trained teachers conducted life exploitation and abuse. As a preventive measure, a skills education sessions after school, on School AIDS Education Programme (SAEP) has Wednesdays and Thursdays. Students in classes 9 been implemented by Tamil Nadu State Aids Control and 11 underwent a minimum of 14 hours of life skills Society and the Directorate of Teachers Education, education according to the guidelines of the National Research and Training. This started a few years ago. Aids Control Organisation (NACO). In the beginning of 2006, 250 key resource persons Books and posters were designed and a list of of the faculty in the District Institute of Education and frequently asked questions was put together. All Training (DIET) were trained. these documents were printed and supplied to all the

schools to support the programme. Subsequently, 2633 head of institutions, 5908 teachers and 5930 peer educators were also trained. In the Tsunami districts, so far, 24188 young people Implementation of the programme was started in who are between 12 and 20 years old, were Private and Matriculation schools. The training of the sensitised on HIV/AIDS.

12 S R T N U

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Training session in Tamil Nadu: To empower women and raising awareness is essential

N E W S

SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS Nearly half the people living with HIV/AIDS in India are women and the number is expected to rise further, as a result of trafficking. The project titled 'Prevention of Trafficking and HIV/AIDS in Women and Girls' (TAHA) has been launched jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) of the Government with support from Department for International Development (DFID). The project has been launched in view of the fact that an estimated 5.1 million people are living with HIV in India, needing immediate attention to the root causes that heighten the vulnerability of women and girls to trafficking and HIV. These are poverty, gender discrimination and unsafe mobility. The project is implemented in 11 states in India. The UN recovery team will work in close coordination with the TAHA team in the Tsunami affected states for the prevention of trafficking and to provide care and support to the affected. Considering that the focal point in the recovery team for the Trafficking and HIV/AIDS project has been in place from the 2nd March '06, the activities will now be accelerated. The focus of the recovery team in addition to the awareness, medical support and sensitisation will be to set up sustainable livelihood models for the vulnerable groups as well as the survivors of trafficking in the Tsunami affected districts.

13 9 Disaster Risk Management

U P D A T E LEARNING HOW TO RESPOND TO AND BE PREPARED FOR DISASTERS The Disaster Management (DRM) programme aims This should lead to an increased awareness and at institutionalising disaster risk management into all hence, build up the capacity of generators, development activities and is presently being transmitters and the ultimate receptors of early implemented in six districts of the state of Tamil warning messages alike and ultimately, help Nadu. It is a Government of India (GoI) initiative with the community to respond in the best possible technical and manpower support from the UNDP. manner. The present risk assessment methodologies have to be studied in order to come Generating awareness up with an adequate solution for each state. A Of the various initiatives taken, one is to build up and database, called IndisData, collects all information institutionalise the early warning systems at all on all disasters and their impact in India from 1975 levels in the state administration, the communities onwards. IndisData will be an important tool to and within other stakeholders in all the Tsunami assess potential risk areas and will help to develop affected districts. the planning of disaster risk management. S R T N U

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Emergency plan drawn up by inhabitants of a village in Tamil Nadu N E W S SEVERAL KINDS OF TRAINING TO ENHANCE PREPAREDNESS As a part of the DRM programme, training of trainers for National Cadet Corps/National Service Scheme is being organised. So far, about 300 people have been trained in the role that the cadets can play in disaster management and response - like providing immediate relief after disasters, as well as in generating awareness and building up capacity as part of disaster preparedness initiatives. A one-day consultation workshop for identifying suitable technological options for early warning dissemination was organised in April 2006 in Chennai. Participants for the workshop ranged from Government officials, representatives from Indian Meteorological Department, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, State’s run phone company, satellite radio operators, community radio operators and civil defence, to representatives of the disaster management teams. A meeting, in March 2006, outlined the objectives of the IndisData project. Nodal institutes as well as nodal persons were identified and the role of each of them regarding the development and the sustainability of the project has been defined. This meeting was attended by representatives from several governmental departments like the Fire and Rescue Service, the Department of Geology and Mines, the Forest Department, the National Informatics Centre, the Indian Meteorological Department, the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai and more. Two national UN Volunteers are involved in the data collection work.

14 S T O R Y TO RESCUE ONESELF AND OTHERS A two-day community-based disaster preparedness training in the coastal village of Thazhanguda in Cuddalore District leaves villagers with more confidence on how to cope with future disasters. It is in the blazing sun of mid afternoon on a hot day in World Vision Cuddalore Tsunami Rehabilitation Thazhanguda that young men with bright red Project. The Government, in Cuddalore is aware of bandanas climb the roof of a building to rescue the necessity to train its people - hence their presence during the mock drill. Says M. S. S R

T Shanmugam: “The first minutes in a disaster are N U

crucial, so if people know how to react, many lives : o t can be saved”. Cuddalore District already has a o h

P good example of a community who have been trained in disaster preparedness even before the S R T N U

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o t o h P

Saving people in emergencies has to be trained more than once people in distress. They rope them down to safer ground. They put them on a stretcher and run for the ambulance; they lift them on their shoulders to bring them to a protected place and they crawl in the sand to rescue the injured, lying helplessly on the ground. Mapping of hazard prone months in the sand There is no emergency as such. This is a mock drill performed in the presence of Gagandeep Singh Tsunami: Samiyarpettai. Thanks to the training, this Bedi, the District Collector and M. S. Shanmugam, community was able to save many lives when the District Revenue Officer, Relief and Rehabilitation of Tsunami hit. The death toll remained under 20. Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. The drill is part of a two- Today it is the turn of the people of Thazhanguda. day community-based disaster preparedness The coastal village with 1897 inhabitants lost 35 training organised by World Vision India, in people and 128 to the lethal waves. coordination with the Government of India and the Disaster Risk Management programme of UNDP. Developing a disaster preparedness plan The goal of this training is to show what can and must be done if a disaster strikes. But it also should In the training, they learn on how fire hazards, floods build up confidence and knowledge in the local and other natural disasters affect the community and how to react appropriately. An assessment is population. “Each person must know how to rescue conducted with the community, using participatory themselves and possibly, others”, explains Mr. learning methods and action exercises; they learn Jayakumar, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator of about the history of disasters, map the resources already present in the community and draw up S R

T seasonality calendars to define hazard prone N U

months. All the information gathered is analysed by :

o

t the community members and a community-based o h

P disaster preparedness plan is developed. In the end, a group of young men is trained in actual rescue action. Rajavel, one of the volunteers says that it is very inspiring to follow the training: “When the Tsunami came, we couldn't save people. Now we know how to do it”. But two days' training will not do the trick. As Mr. Jayakumar says, “Awareness is not built in one day. A training of this sort needs to be repetitive”. So in six months' time, the villagers of Thazhanguda will face another training programme and learn more about roping, crawling, running for safe places and saving their own lives and the lives Children observing mock drill training of others.

15 10 Policy Support

U P D A T E COORDINATION AND SHARING OF INFORMATION S

The United Nations was requested by various NGOs R T

to take on the responsibility to facilitate coordination N U

: among stakeholders. As a result, Tamil Nadu o t o

Tsunami Resource Centre (TNTRC) was set up in h August 2005 and has been functioning successfully, p as an example of best practice. TNTRC provides a forum for stakeholders in Tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction, and assists them to have joint strategies to build partnerships and to coordinate in various sectors. Ultimately, the TNTRC's activities C R T N T

: o t o h p

NCRC: one of the district level coordination centres TNTRC through Memorandums of Understanding. In the next phase, attempts are made to establish information and knowledge network Centres in the following Districts: Chennai, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and others. Information technology for villages The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26th December has TNTRC: coordinating actors active in tsunami recovery exposed the vulnerabilities of coastal populations of should aim at enhancing the quality of life of the South India in general and fisher-communities in affected population in Tamil Nadu. Some major outputs of the first quarter of the year are: particular. It was instrumental for many civil society organisations in re-examining options for ! Development of strategic plans for the year with empowering these communities. In particular, the guiding principles. use of Information Technology (IT) kiosks in the ! context of development of these communities has Sectoral core group meetings conducted for child been explored by several agencies, including UNDP. focus, shelter, water and sanitation and livelihood. The immediate objective now is to set up IT kiosks One such meeting on shelter and habitat, brought to and upgrade existing Village Information Centres light the problems related to flooding in permanent (VICs). Information Technology infrastructure, shelters. Another meeting resulted indissemination including equipment like hardware, software and of environmental friendly sanitation models at telephone connections for internet access, has to be Cuddalore for permanent shelters through a introduced and training in computer and internet workshop. use has to be given by and for the rural communities. ! Preparatory work has been done for upcoming The ICT kiosks would be linked with the district resource centres in four districts (see below) recovery centres and exchange of information would ! take place. The assessment in the post-Tsunami The focus on the Newsletter changed from a period also has underscored the need for community general information bulletin to a tool for use. participation and a platform that enables them to ! Upgrading on the website, proactive information share and receive information. Therefore, a was done and an e-news letter was published. community radio system is being set up in Nagapattinam district as a pilot project (see story Support is also being provided to district level next page). Through this, a community resource centres, like the NGO Coordination and communications system is developed and Resource Centre (NCRC), Nagapattinam, the implemented, which then provides a platform for Kanyakumari Rehabilitation and Resource Centre information dissemination, awareness building and (KRRC) and the NGO Coordination and Knowledge education for Nagapattinam and its nearby areas. Resource Centre (NCKRC), Auroville. These Apart from this, the community radio should resource centres are formally networked with empower women and give them a voice too.

16 Tools for policy support . Society Organisations (CSO), as well as the Government Organisation and the CSOs, can hence The networking of the resource centres is being be established. Use of local language is being complemented with a web-based ICT solution, ensured. Through this tool, beneficiaries - affected developed by UNDP in partnership with Price and eligible individuals, families, communities and Waterhouse Coopers that captures damages, needs, socio-economic groups as well as the benefits given resources available, potential partnerships and the to them can be tracked. gaps to be addressed. The database would be fed into the resource centres and would facilitate Ownership of the solution resides with the information exchange, coordination and synergies Department of Revenue Administration and Disaster among the civil society partners, the Government Management & Mitigation in Tamil Nadu, which would agencies, bilateral and multilateral agencies. ensure effective partnership with the other This system will also facilitate the capturing of the departments at the state, district and block level as scale and variety of the delivered and ongoing relief well as institutions of local governance such as the work. It will track delivery, and monitor various panchayats and municipalities and non- schemes of the Government towards recovery and governmental agencies collaborating with the rehabilitation efforts. Coordination between Civil recovery efforts.

S T O R Y COMMUNITY RADIO: GIVING A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS

Community radio is a relatively new concept in the themselves familiarised and proved their skills in Indian Information and Communication the two-day hands-on training programme that was Technology. It is so far not as established as that of conducted in Budhikote. The programme is likely to IT kiosks or Village Information Centres. Up to now, go on air in June. Topics to be spread through it has remained a little bit of an orphan child with community radios will vary from information about much potential. In this regard, UNDP has taken the disaster management, development related lead and decided to replicate already existing issues, medicinal plants, organic farming to community radio projects in three places in Tamil programmes for school children or entertainment Nadu. UNDP entered into an agreement with programmes, as well as counselling for victims. Voices, the organisation which had already The entire control and generation of content rests implemented the community radio project in a place with the community, who are best equipped to know called Budhikote. Voices should provide technical the needs of their own community. and implementation support, whereas Aid India, an . The project gives voice to the voiceless, especially NGO, is going to be responsible for running the to those who have been less heard and have so far programme on a daily basis and to provide ground never been a part of any mainstream media. level support in implementation. . a i d n I

Initially anxious . d i A

:

o

Community Radio should be run by volunteers and t o can be spread through cables with the aid of h P loudspeakers, which are placed at meeting points in the local community. The volunteers are trained in interviewing skills, in generating locally relevant content, as well as in audio recording and other relevant tasks. Thus community radio enables people to generate content, in their language, for their own benefit. So far, seven volunteers from Nagapattinam have been selected. It was interesting to see how the volunteers were initially anxious of all the technology and slowly got Volunteers are trained to reach out to the community

L I N K

Find out more about the different resource centres in Tamil Nadu on www.tntrc.org or www.ncrc.in or http://www.krrc.in or http://www.auroville.org/tsunami/projects/knowledge_centre.htm

17 11 Environment

U P D A T E

FORGOTTEN ENVIRONMENT S

The December 2004 earthquake and Tsunami had R T unprecedented consequences for human N U

: o populations and natural systems on coasts and t o h islands across the Indian Ocean. The coastline of p India was seriously affected. While State Governments, along with National and International agencies, have been working to restore the livelihoods and rebuild better shelters for the communities living along the coast, there have been, so far, few attempts to understand the impact of this event on natural marine and near- shore ecosystems. There is currently no relevant information on the present status and the prospects, as well as on the status of human communities, dependant on these natural areas for their livelihoods. There is a need to focus more closely, on the mid- to long-term consequences of rehabilitation efforts on the natural resilience of social and ecological systems along the coast. Hence, in early March 2006, UNDP has initiated detailed assessments as well as s tudies with regional institutions to address the long-term security and sustainability of the coastal areas, specifically affected by the Tsunami. . This artificial sand dune will become a natural protection in time S R T N U

: o t o h p

No chance for crops to grow: plots ruined by salt water

18 The scope of the environmental study S

One of the ongoing studies aims at providing a R T N

comprehensive assessment of the state of coastal U

: o t environments in Tsunami affected districts; an analysis o h of impacts on ecosystem-derived livelihoods and an p assessment of crucial gaps in knowledge. This will be achieved using extensive field-based assessments, where experts map the various ecosystems and carry out detailed analysis to document the changes of these ecosystems over the last several years. Furthermore, stakeholders are invited to specific workshops to understand the needs and demands of the coastal zone in terms of livelihood as well as sustainability. All efforts when combined would lead to a report of the current state of the coastal habitats, particularly along the Tsunami affected areas. This is part of a proposed longer-term programme that aims to understand coastal vulnerability and resilience in the face of extreme natural events within the Indian context and will establish participatory ecological and community monitoring systems, critically analyse developmental policy with respect to the coast and develop management models for key sites along the coast. In addition, the environmental sustainability dimension will be integrated with livelihood restoration activities supported by the UN Country Team, both in the fisheries Water flowing through drainage that had to be cleaned after the tsunami and non-fisheries sectors. Some of the expected outputs of the studies are: . ! An analysis of ecological and socio-economic losses incurred in the Tsunami affected states on the Indian mainland based data collection, which will also establish the required baselines to assess the socio-ecological impact of the Tsunami.

! A detailed gap analysis of socio-ecological impact assessments done in the Tsunami affected states.

! Identification of critical marine and near-shore ecosystems and a rapid assessment of their present ecological status.

! Identification of sites that require urgent attention for ecological restoration and/or monitoring and livelihood reconstruction.

! A preliminary analysis of post-Tsunami ecosystem-derived livelihoods with particular emphasis on fisheries.

! An assessment of changes in ecosystem-derived livelihood patterns as a result of the Tsunami.

! A preliminary analysis of recovery efforts with potential implications for ecosystems, ecosystem-derived livelihoods and socio-ecological resilience.

N E W S BETTER USE OF THE COASTAL ZONE REGULATION As part of UNDP initiative in this sector, a review of managed. The report has been finalised and will be the report prepared by the Expert Committee released shortly. The findings of the review will help headed by M.S. Swaminathan on the Coastal to engage stakeholders and authorities to a better Regulation Zone (CRZ) was commissioned. This notification on CRZ that takes into account the was necessitated as the interpretation and needs of the coastal communities and environment. implementation of the recommendations provided It has the potential to strengthen the legal framework in this report would have significant impacts on the for coastal policies and coastal zone management, way the coastal areas would be legislated over and particularly in the Tsunami affected states.

19 picture story

photo: UNTRS TOO LITTLE FISH IN THE SEA It is a normal weekday morning on some beach in Nagapattinam, one of the worst affected districts in Tamil Nadu by the Tsunami in 2004. Women are going about their business and so are the men: they are competing in catching what little fish is left in the sea. Even before the Tsunami, the catch was going down. Immediately after the gigantic waves, fishermen dreaded going to sea for about three months. Now fishing is returning to normal but the catch remains more uncertain than ever.