After the Tsunami Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Lessons Learnt This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form of educational or non-profit services without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from UNEP. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, DCPI, UNEP, P.O. Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya. 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Table of Contents Preface.................................................................................................................................. 4 Executive.summary............................................................................................................... 5 1..Introduction....................................................................................................................... 6 1.1.. Profile.of.Aceh................................................................................................. 6 1.2... Apparent.changesin.land.cover..................................................................... 6 2..Coastal.Conditions.Before.the.Tsunami............................................................................. 8 2.1. Mangrove.forest.............................................................................................. 8 2.2. Beach.forest.................................................................................................. 10 2.3. Aquaculture.ponds........................................................................................ 11 2.4. Peatland........................................................................................................ 12 2.5. Swamps......................................................................................................... 14 2.6. Sandy.beach.vegetation.............................................................................. 14 3..Coastal.conditionsafter.the.tsunami............................................................................... 16 3.1. Impact.of.the.tsunamiand.earthquake......................................................... 16 3.2. Regeneration.of.vegetation.......................................................................... 26 3.3. Prospects.for.rehabilitation............................................................................ 27 4..Lessons.learned............................................................................................................... 30 4.1. Actors.in.coastal.rehabilitation...................................................................... 30 4.2. Progress.in.implementation........................................................................... 34 4.3. Level.of.success............................................................................................. 38 4.4. Limitations.and.constraintsin.the.field............................................................ 39 4.5. Recommendations........................................................................................ 51 Preface Another.weakness.found.in.the.field.was.the.very. limited.amount.of.community.involvement.in.the. The.tsunami.of.26.December.2004.swept.along. rehabilitation.activity..Communities.tended.to.be. 800.km.of.the.coast.of.the.Indonesian.province. included.only.as.workers,.not.as.partners.involved. of. Nanggröe. Aceh. Darussalam. (NAD,. or. Aceh),. actively.and.continuously..Moreover,.coordination. causing.the.loss.of.at.least.167,000.lives..A.further. and.information.sharing.among.the.stakeholders. 500,000.people.lost.their.homes.and.livelihoods. concerned. with. the. rehabilitation. activity. were. very.poor. A.year.later,.as.many.as.124.international.NGOs,. 430. national. NGOs,. dozens. of. donor. and. UN. A.mistaken.perception.among.the.implementers. organizations,.a.variety.of.Government.institutions. was. that. rehabilitation. activity. ended. once. the. and. military. institutions. had. been. recorded,. seedlings. had. been. planted. in. the. field.. The. together. with. the. community,. to. be. working. on. result.as.they.saw.it,.therefore,.was.the.number.of. rebuilding.Aceh.(BRR,.2005). seedlings.planted,.not.the.number.that.survived. after.planting. The.first.step.in.the.reconstruction.effort.focused. mostly.on.the.emergency.response,.particularly. Apart. from. the. matters. mentioned. above,. the. with.regard.to.fulfilling.the.victims’.need.for.basic. coastal.rehabilitation.activities.underway.in.NAD. items.such.as.food,.clean.water.and.shelter. As. province.have.provided.a.great.many.experiences. conditions. in. the. field. began. to. improve,. the. and.valuable.lessons. Unfortunately,.these lessons. emergency.gradually.subsided.and.work.moved. have. not. been. brought. to. the. attention. of. the. to.the.next.phase,.rehabilitation..From.that.point. stakeholders.in.Aceh. For.this.reason,.Wetlands. on,. attention. began. to. be. directed. towards. International-Indonesia.Programme.collaborated. restoration.of.the.environment,.particularly.in.those. with.the.United.Nations.Environment.Programme. areas.hit.by.the.tsunami. (UNEP).to.undertake.this.study.of.lessons.learned. from.coastal.ecosystem.restoration.efforts.in.Aceh. A. number. of. organizations,. both. governmental. since.the.tsunami. and. non-governmental,. initiated. a. variety. of. environmental.restoration.activities,.in.particular.the. In. this. study,. the. causes. of. failures. have. been. planting.of.mangrove.and.other.coastal.vegetation. identified. and. extracted. from. a. variety. of. in.an.effort.to.restore.the.coastlands. Within.only. stakeholders..In.addition,.this.study.also.provides. a.few.months,.coastal.rehabilitation.actions. had. a. range. of. information,. experience,. strategies. mushroomed.throughout.the.Aceh.coast,.and.the. and. other. matters. relevant. to. supporting. the hitherto.unknown.term.‘mangrove’.suddenly.became. rehabilitation. activities. undertaken. by. both. familiar.in.the.community,.who.had.previously.called. government. and. NGOs. It. is. hoped. that. the. it.by.its.local.name.“bak bangka”.. suggestions. and. recommendations. made. here. can. be. used. to. support. rehabilitation. efforts. in. After. 18. months. of. coastal. rehabilitation. activity,. NAD.Province.. the.results.are.now.clear. Only.a.few.activities.of.it. have.been.fully.successful,.the.rest.has.failed. This. can.be.seen.simply.from.the.low.survival.rate.of. plants.in.the.field. Reasons.given.for.the.failures. include:.mistakes.in.the.selection.of.planting.sites,. unsuitable.choice.of.plants,.insufficient.preparation,. inadequate.guidance,.no.tending.of.the.plants,. and.the.low.capacity.of.human.resources. Coastal Ecosystem Restoration: Lessons Learned in Aceh since the Tsunami Executive summary •. that.the.use.of.mature.and.qualified.seed.and. seedlings.is.essential.to.high.survival.rates.after. planting; This.report.explains.what.is.known.about.coastal. ecosystems.in.the.Indonesian.province.of.Nanggröe. •. that.the.choice.of.site.for.nurseries.is.important. Aceh.Darussalam.(NAD.or.Aceh),.their.status.before. to. seedling. production,. the. best. sites. being. the.tsunami.of.2004,.and.how.they.fared.after.it. tidal,.flat.and.sheltered.from.the.wind; It.reviews.the.ecosystem.restoration.activities.that. •. that.the.use.of.growth.media.with.too.little.mud. were. undertaken. in. 2005-2006. by. a. variety. of. content.causes.seedlings.to.die; governmental.and.non-governmental.actors,.in. •. that. a. 1-2. month. ‘hardening. off’. period. is. partnership.with.many.different.stakeholder.groups,. needed. before. planting,. during. which. the. and. updates. findings. into. 2007. Specifically,. it. seedlings.are.progressively.deprived.of.fresh. critically. examines. the. various. means. by. which. water.and.shade; the.re-planting.of.mangroves.and.other.coastal. vegetation. was. attempted,. and. quantifies. the. •. that.seedlings.were.often.planted.in.the.wrong. outcome. in. terms. of. success. as. measured. by. sites,. that. is. in. sandy. areas,. in. areas. prone. long-term.seedling.survival. A.total.of.almost.30. to. drying. out,. and. in. high-energy. locations. million. seedlings. were. recorded. to. have. been. vulnerable.to.currents.and.wind; planted.on.27,500.ha.in.Aceh.since.the.tsunami. •. that.planting.in.privately-owned.areas.without. Unfortunately,.the.mangroves.were.often.planted.