The Environmental Reconstruction Needs

Waste Management: Proper storage, disposal and recycling of the debris waste are now urgent priorities to protect human communities, prevent additional contamination, and also to create short-term employment.

Environmental Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of environmental quality in the impacted areas should be conducted in order to evaluate the success of rehabilitation efforts, to detect new problems as they arise and to alert local communities to risks.

Empowerment and Capacity Building of the Ministries of Environment: The Ministries of Environment in each country should be empowered to integrate environmental issues in the reconstruction process and to coordinate the activities of key stakeholders.

Integrated Coastal Zone Planning: The reconstruction planning process should take into account the lessons learned from the disaster and adopt an integrated coastal zone planning approach that seeks to achieve sustainable reconstruction. UNEP, meeting on “Coastal Zone Rehabilitation and Management in Regions Affected by Tsunamis and Other Natural Disasters” in Cairo in February, endorsed a set of “Guiding Principles for Tsunami Reconstruction”.

Environmental Screening of Reconstruction Projects: All recovery and reconstruction projects should undergo an environmental screening process.

Restoration of Sustainable Livelihoods: The thousands of people that lost their livelihoods to the disaster require assistance in developing sustainable alternatives.

Strategic Guidance on Building Back Better: Overall objective of the reconstruction efforts to build back better will not succeed without a strategic action plan with profound commitment by the affected countries, donors and implementation agencies. This planning must be supported by expertise and mechanisms to transfer knowledge and sound technologies e.g. renewable energy, eco-housing etc.