IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Rehabilitating coastal ecosystems in a post tsunami context

The Ministry of Environment of Spain has been providing key support (through three grants) to IUCN's post-tsunami work beginning in September 2006 and continuing till April 2009.

Restoration of mangroves in Sri Lanka and Thailand - Phase I

During this phase, the project focused on demonstrating and piloting on-the-ground approaches to mangrove restoration and conservation in Sri Lanka and Thailand. Within each country, a key protected area site (including its buffer zone and immediate surrounding area) was selected for piloting mangrove restoration activities. In Sri Lanka, Kumana (Yala East) National Park was identified as a priority for mangrove restoration, and in Thailand, Laemson National Park was selected as a project field site.

Consolidation phase - Phase II

The goal of the consolidation phase was to support ecosystem restoration and conservation in tsunami-affected coastal areas as a mechanism to strengthen sustainable coastal zone management policy and to reduce the vulnerability of coastal populations in Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Reinforcement and extension- Phase III

This phase further strengthened this initiative by providing additional resources for building capacity and developing a local resource pool amongst the various stakeholders who have been involved in ecosystem restoration in post-tsunami rehabilitation and reconstruction. This phase placed particular emphasis on capacity building, which has been identified as one of the weakest areas and the most sought after by the protected area managers and other relevant agencies. The aim was to strengthen institutions for disaster management and risk reduction with ecosystem perspective. Further, this initiative expanded the Project activities to select areas in Maldives and Indonesia - two other countries severely affected by the tsunami.