The World Conservation Union (IUCN)

Our work

The tsunami brought new dimensions to the World Conservation Union’s regional activities. In Thailand and Sri Lanka in particular, work on ecological and social assessments has proved useful to other organisations and government agencies involved in post-tsunami rehabilitation. IUCN is also spearheading the campaign to popularise the value of mangroves as a source of livelihoods and as a protection against wave and flood damage to infrastructure.

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Conservation and restoration

Environmental stories: after the tsunami

During the past year, the World Conservation Union, its members and its partners have been very active, providing guidance to post tsunami reconstruction efforts and undertaking community-based restoration work in affected areas in the Asian region, particularly along the coasts of Sri Lanka and Thailand. It drew upon its demonstrated experience and credibility in dealing with ecosystem and livelihood issues and its strong field presence in the two countries to collaborate at both local and national levels.

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Sustainable livelihoods

Rebuilding boats may not equal rebuilding livelihoods

Indonesian rural coastal communities
are highly dependent on coastal
fisheries resources for food security and livelihoods with many of the people working as small-scale fishers, using low-technology gear and small powered and un-powered vessels. Armed with good intentions and awash with money, but without clear co-ordination and a coherent strategy many of the efforts to rehabilitate these coastal communities will fail.

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Environmental law

Producing a draft law on coastal zone management for Thailand

Coastal zone management in Thailand has, for decades,been governed through ad hoc application of natural resource and environmental quality laws, which is seldom coordinated with the implementation of laws governing sectors that carry out activities in the coastal zone. The aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami demonstrated the shortcomings of a fragmented approach to regulating coastal zone management and led to the development and formulation of a draft law..

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Disaster management

Assessment of capacity building requirements for an effective warning and mitigation system in the Indian Ocean

The objective of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWS) is to effectively mitigate the hazard posed by local and distant tsunamis in all parts of the Indian Ocean. To achieve this objective, an end-to-end tsunami warning system is needed that establishes national and regional tsunami warning systems and promotes preparedness and risk reduction against tsunami hazards within a multi-hazard approach.

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Environmental economics

Linking Coastal Ecosystems and Human Well-Being:
Learning from conceptual frameworks and empirical results

After the devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004,awareness that there is an inextricable link between the status of coastal ecosystems and the vulnerability of coastal inhabitants to natural disasters was brought forcefully to the forefront, because a direct correlation between the health of coastal ecosystems and the degree of shoreline protection provided by them was demonstrated clearly.

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