TSUNAMI RECONSTRUCTION: REMEMBER MALDIVES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000301

SIPDIS

MANILA FOR USED ADB
DEPT PASS U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PREL MALDIVES'>MV
SUBJECT: TSUNAMI RECONSTRUCTION: REMEMBER MALDIVES

REFS: (A) COLOMBO 38 (B) OFDA MALDIVES SITREPS


1. (U) Summary. The Maldivian government, aided
by international agencies, has done an impressive
job of identifying long-term tsunami reconstruction
needs. The U.S. should do its part in funding this
Maldivian effort. The upcoming visit to MALDIVES
by former U.S. Presidents Bush and Clinton will
serve to draw attention to this noteworthy
Maldivian effort and hopefully remind the world
community not to forget MALDIVES in the larger post-
tsunami picture. End Summary.

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2. (U) During a February 2-3 visit to MALDIVES, DCM
met separately with GoRM officials (Aminath Didi,
Assistant Director General, Department of External
Resources, Riluwan Shareef, Excutive Director, Aid
Coordination, Ministry of Finance and Ali Naseer
Mohamed, Assistant Director, Department of External
Resources) and with UNDP officials (newly-arrived
Deputy ResRep Kari Blindheim and longtime Mission
contact Abdul Bari Abdulla, Program Coordinator)
involved in tsunami reconstruction planning. It is
clear that reconstruction planning and coordination
are well-advanced and that the government and
supporting international agencies have a clear idea
of what needs to be done and how to do it. A joint
World Bank-Asian Development Bank-UN System
assessment entitled "The Impact of the Tsunami and
the Way Forward" should be in final shortly. It is
important that the U.S. play a constructive role in
moving these plans to fruition since the primary
need in MALDIVES is not planning assistance or
technical assistance (the Maldivians can largely
handle both) but money.


3. (U) The Maldivian officials all expressed
tremendous appreciation for the rapid U.S.
assistance in the immediate relief phase, the
supplies and food provided via OFDA's USD 1.2
million grant to UNICEF for health, water and
sanitation activities, and the work of the U.S.
military Combined Support Group (CSG) in the hard-
hit Laamu atoll. Among other activities, the CSG
provided an approximately one-month supply of
drinking water to the residents of seven targeted
islands in this atoll. In a meeting with the DCM,
Deputy Foreign Minister Shihab noted that he had
gone aboard one of the U.S. Navy ships and had been
impressed by the dedication and professionalism of
the U.S. military personnel. "How can we ever thank
the U.S.?" Shihab asked.


4. (U) Didi and Shareef reviewed with DCM the
comprehensive GoRM reconstruction plan which it
will fund through a trust fund set up by the
government. The plan shares with the UNDP analysis
a focus on the need for shelter as an immediate
priority. UNDP already has put together a draft
project on "Emergency shelter response and recovery
for the Tsunami-affected people of MALDIVES;" the
Government has drawn up a standard blueprint for
low-cost but durable housing units that have
already started to be put up on affected islands.
The government plan also focuses on an Island
Livelihood Development Program (ILDP) that will get
affected populations back on their feet through
activities such as fixing and replacing fishing
boats as needed. It also incorporates longstanding
GoRM plans to improve conditions in outlying
atolls; in other words rebuild things better than
they were before the tsunami.


5. (U) The reconstruction needs are indeed
significant. Harbors and jetties were destroyed on
a third of the 199 inhabited islands in MALDIVES.
Health clinics, hospitals and schools were damaged
on more than fifty inhabited islands. Thirteen
inhabited islands had to be abandoned after the
tsunami with their populations relocated onto more

SIPDIS
heavily-populated islands (indeed, the government
has for years encouraged migration towards
population centers). The reconstruction task is
made more challenging in MALDIVES by the distances
and logistics involved in getting reconstruction
materials out from Male' to far-flung atolls and
then getting supplies and equipment ashore on coral
reef atolls where the jetties have been damaged or
destroyed. Indeed, a high priority for the GoRM at
present is finding "landing craft-like" ships that
can deliver large loads right up onto the beach in
affected atolls where jetties were destroyed.


6. (U) As part of the reconstruction process, the
GoRM has accelerated plans for the long-standing
population consolidation strategy built around the
concept of the "safe island" which would include
artificially elevated areas to help residents get
away from rising waters in the future In the area
of geology, the GoRM and the UNDP are already
working with the U.S. Geological Survey on a survey
of tsunami-affected islands to determine which
islands suffered too much damage to their
"structural integrity" to serve as population
centers. DCM heard anecdotal accounts of islands
that were still shifting and settling, resulting in
building collapses days after the tsunami waters
receded. In addition, the USG'S work will also
focus on development of safe island criteria with
respect to geology, for use in the future. Other
important areas for which safe islands criteria
must be established include water/sanitation and
solid waste disposal.


7. (U) The GoRM is also struggling with the revenue
implications of the post-tsunami decline in
tourism. While most resorts were able to reopen
shortly after the waves receded (the government
estimates nineteen resorts will need to stay closed
for repairs),the occupancy rate has fallen below
thirty percent during what is usually the
traditional Maldivian tourist "high season" when
resorts are typically fully booked. The government
has mounted a campaign to tell tourists that
MALDIVES is "back in business," but realizes that
it will take time to rebuild the industry. Despite
the revenue shortfall, however, DFM Shihab told DCM
that the GoRM will do everything in its power to
avoid taking advantage of whatever debt relief or
restructuring is offered by its G-7 creditors. "We
are proud of our record on debt repayment and don't
want to do anything to diminish it. We would only
seek help on debt as a last resort."


8. (U) Comment. As former Presidents Bush and
Clinton will see, the Maldivian response in the
face of tsunami destruction is most impressive.
The U.S. should encourage that strong response by
making a significant contribution on the funding
side. Perhaps the most important way to help in
the short term is through the ongoing USG's effort
to help the GoRM figure out which affected islands
remain geologically safe and viable. End Comment

LUNSTEAD