In Depth Coverage

Tsunami recovery efforts in Aceh - rebuilding sustainable communities

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is working in partnership with the American Red Cross (ARC) in the areas impacted by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to ensure that disaster recovery and reconstruction activities maintain and enhance healthy ecosystems. The infusion of large amounts of resources to rebuild communities and get people back to work, however well-intentioned, can generate greater environmental degradation and increase community vulnerability to future disasters if not designed and implemented to account for local environmental conditions. To mitigate these potential negative effects, the American Red Cross uses the technical expertise of WWF and Sri Lanka partner World Conservation Union (IUCN), to evaluate the environmental effects of tsunami recovery and reconstruction activities and provide alternative solutions. The partnership focuses on four major themes: 1) livelihoods; 2) construction; 3) water and sanitation; and 4) disaster management. As part of the WWF-ARC Partnership Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) program, WWF is planning to develop a series of maps that look at the relationship between post-tsunami reconstruction and changes in forest cover, water quality, mangroves, and fish stocks.

• Link With Climate Change

  Open

  Mangroves and healthy coastal ecosystems are natural defenses against major storms and flooding, events which are expected to increase in frequency and severity with climate change. Helping local inhabitants rebuild sustainably and while ensuring healthy ecosystems will provide for more stable and well protected communities in the future. In addition, protecting tropical forests provides for a variety of ecosystem services including water management and carbon stocks. Curbing deforestation will limit emissions of greenhouse gases which are helping drive climate change and increase carbon storage and sequestration.

• Objectives

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  The objectives of this project are to assess the impacts of post-tsunami reconstruction of 3 important components: Forests, Mangroves and the Coastal Zone.

  • Forests - Forest cover is linked to humanitarian aid through the timber that is used for construction materials and for fuel wood. Illegal logging is of particular concern in Aceh, where researchers have estimated that the reconstruction has required 850,000 cubic meters of illegally-sourced timber. WWF is helping ARC ensure that any reconstruction of habitations in project sites are sourced from sustainable timber - either best harvesting practices locally, or internationally donated sustainable wood. This project will assess rates of deforestation before and after the tsunami to determine if post-disaster ARC reconstruction projects are having significant impacts on local forests, and whether deforestation is increasing vulnerability to erosion and landslides, which have been common following the tsunami.
     
  • Mangroves - Mangrove coverage was directly affected by the tsunami where the vast majority of coastline that once supported mangrove habitat was removed by the tsunami waves. Mangroves are important in terms of providing habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife, as well as important nursery areas for fisheries. Mangroves can also act as coastal barriers potentially providing disaster risk reduction functions against future tsunamis, flooding, and storm surges from extreme weather events, such as cyclones. Many mangrove stands were decimated during the tsunami, increasing vulnerability of coastal communities to future disasters. Wetlands International and WWF has also restored mangroves in certain sites. WWF aims to use SPOT imagery to determine which restoration projects have been successful, where mangroves are still absent or deteriorated, and where reconstruction has affected mangroves, notably by land reclamation.
     
  • The Coastal Zone - reducing future human deaths from tsunamis and cyclones means placing people further from sea. WWF is helping ARC ensure that a coastal buffer zone is implemented, and placing newly built further inland. WWF will use SPOT imagery to map new habitations and communities and determine whether they lie in potential flood plains and vulnerable areas.

• Work plan

  Open

  To be developed

• Schedule

  Open

  To be developed

• Technical and Scientific Approach & Methods Proposed

  Open

  Standard supervised classification methods and object-based image analysis will be used to map forest/non forest in coastal areas from post-tsunami imagery. The software used will include ERDAS Imagine and ENVI 4.5 with Feature Extractor.

  
  Landsat data has already been acquired to asses forest cover pre-2004.Rates of deforestation around ARC project sites will be assessed and quantified.

  
  Mangroves are easy to detect from multi-spectral imagery due to their unique signature and moist understory. These habitats will be mapped at several intervals since the tsunami, 2005 and 2007 and 2010 to look for changes, both increase and decrease in extent.

  
  New habitations and settlements will be detected visually from SPOT imagery for the same time periods to assess the increase in area covered by human development.

• Results

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  The results from this project will include maps and quantitative assessments of forest cover, mangrove and coastal development for 2005, 2007, and an anticipated time step of 2010 at the end of the project.

  These maps and analyses will provide WWF, Red Cross and partners with an accurate assessment of post-disaster reconstruction impacts and provide local communities with the information needed for better integrated watershed management. Local community groups have already formed to ensure local management and enhancement of coastal watersheds, and this project will directly help them manage their delicate resources.

  
  This assessment will also help ARC and others with sustainable reconstruction efforts in the future.
  Finally, imagery received for this project will be provided to local WWF offices for capacity building, training in GIS and remote sensing for monitoring and management, and biomass mapping for carbon accounting.

• Deliverables

  Open

  To be developed

• Use of Satellite Imagery and GIS Solutions

  Open

  To be developed

• Local Actions

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  The local actions resulting from this project will include:

  • Sites identified for mangrove and forest restoration. These include sensitive coastal areas which flooded in 2004, and forests cleared in areas with high potential for erosion. Mangrove and forest restoration not only provide jobs for the local community, but increased protection from natural disaster and enhanced ecosystem services, including carbon storage and sequestration.
     
  • Areas of significant deforestation within coastal watersheds will be identified for local watershed teams to mitigate in terms of sediment control, restoration and increased protection of areas vulnerable to erosion (steep slopes, erodible soils)
     
  • Sites identified that are within coastal zone buffer and have increased vulnerability to future disasters. The ARC will work in these places to help mitigate future impacts and drive better planning for future projects. Well-sited reconstruction projects will demonstrate successful project and provide examples for future projects.

• Miscellaneous information / interesting details on project

  Open

  The partnership between WWF and ARC is a truly innovative one aimed at ensuring long-term foresight into reconstruction projects, and ensuring a healthy environment for healthy and sustainable communities. This partnership has already changed reconstruction practices, and provided important workflows and monitoring systems to ensure best practices for clean water, healthy forests and communities less vulnerable to natural disasters.

• Region Name

  Open
  Aceh, Indonesia

• Partners involved in project

  Open
  World Wildlife Fund US - Conservation Science ProgramWorld Wildlife Fund US - Humanitarian PartnershipsWorld Wildlife Fund Indonesia - Aceh officeAmerican Red Cross World Conservation Union (IUCN)