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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042186/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This book is a study of one of the largest international humanitarian efforts in response to the most devastating disaster in recent history, the 2004 Asian tsunami. The document includes individual country case studies of the response effort in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand written by local researchers. It presents valuable lessons from the response and reconstruction efforts, and supplements the vast array of works done by researchers from outside the region. This document looks at some of the significant institutional and economic policy issues that affected the provision of aid following the tsunami. One particular factor that hampered aid delivery was inter-agency coordination. Part of the problem was the sheer number and array of actors that were present, and the variety of objectives and modus operandi that followed from this multiplicity, often leading to open competition and antagonism between different segments of the humanitarian response effort. A second theme discussed in the document was the disregard for local customs and cultural sensitivities. The work juxtaposes this neglect with the central role played by these communities in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami. The authors note the conflicts between wanting to respond with speed, and the need to ‘build back better,’ fight corruption, and assure the proper financial management of resources. This work also poses questions regarding the outcome of the substantial amounts of aid money pledged, such as who committed what, and whether these promises were upheld. From their study of the response, the authors present a number of recommendations. They advocate for greater collaboration between local and international actors in responding to major disaster situations. They also take issue with the considerable confusion surrounding financial aid flows, and thus call for an information structure that tracks aid from its source to its destination, providing information on the planning, implementation, and results of projects. The authors believe that another issue facing the humanitarian assistance community is the priority given to raising funds rather than disbursement and accountability. They also are strong proponents of increasing the use of cash-based forms of aid over the provision of aid in kind. When such initiatives are well designed, cash-for-work, owner-building housing schemes, micro-finance, etc., emphasize putting resources directly in the hands of surviving communities so that they can partake in their own recovery. This focus on increasing community participation in the recovery effort is mirrored in their support for increasing investments in local preparedness. ( English,English,,,, )
- Subject:
- Recovery and Reconstruction
- Citation/Reference:
- Jayasuriya, S., McCawley, P. (2010). The Asian tsunami: aid and reconstruction after a disaster. Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI); Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- All rights reserved by the source institution
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13042186
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