Assisting people affected by the tsunami: The ASEAN-SEAFDEC collaborative framework

Abstract

The tsunami of 26 December 2004 caused tremendous damage to the people and communities living along the coastal areas in various parts of the Indian Ocean. Great efforts have been made to provide for the affected people by governments, international donors groups and other institutions, including non-governmental organizations, in order to support urgent humanitarian needs and to re-build survivors' livelihoods. Such large-scale support, in terms of mobilization of human and financial resources, is steadily helping people to recover from the disaster. Within the international and regional framework to assist the sector and the people, a Consortium to Restore Shattered Livelihoods in Tsunami-Devastated Nations (CONSRN) was inaugurated. At the regional level, the necessity to formulate an ASEAN framework to assist, in a collaborative manner, the rehabilitation and restoration of fisheries for people in the 4 affected countries of the region was recognized. Member countries adopted an ASEAN-SEAFDEC plan of action to assist fishers, fish farmers and their communities on the rehabilitation of their livelihoods and restoration of fisheries in the ASEAN tsunami-affected areas. Details of this plan of action are listed.