IRIN
Seychelles: Tsunami recovery programme needs funds
UN Resident Coordinator
3 May 2005


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 3 May (IRIN) - Efforts to repair infrastructure damaged by 
the devastating tsunami of December 2004 continue in the Seychelles 
despite a shortfall in donor funding.

UN Resident Coordinator for Seychelles Aase Smedler told IRIN on Tuesday 
that the shortfall in funding "is delaying our response in many areas".

"It is a setback but we are working ... on a lot of preparatory 
activities regarding rehabilitation of the fisheries sector, for 
example," Smedler noted.

The Indian Ocean island nation was one of the countries affected by the 
Boxing Day tsunami, when tidal waves killed two people, displaced about 
900 families, and damaged public infrastructure and facilities, such as 
bridges on the main highway between the airport and the capital, 
Victoria.

Tourism and fisheries, both vital to the economy, were also badly 
affected. The Seychelles assessed damage from the tsunami at about US 
$30 million.

In its latest situation report the UN Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that, "The limited amount of resources 
pledged by donors against the Flash Appeal continues to hamper 
rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. The UN Resident Coordinator 
is approaching a number of donors to bridge the funding gap. Most of the 
assistance to date has been provided by the private sector, bilateral 
contributions, or the government."

Insufficient funding was hampering full-scale implementation of projects 
budgeted for in the Flash Appeal. "Nevertheless, preparatory work for 
the UN projects in response to the damage caused by the tsunami is in 
progress," OCHA noted.

Smedler said the aim of these projects "is to re-establish economic 
activity and build up livelihoods".

According to the OCHA financial tracking website, the Seychelles has 
received about $4.4 million from donors. Smedler noted that this was 
against the $11.5 million budgeted for under the Flash Appeal.

"There are possibilities that we're reviewing with donors and we hope 
that some of them will materialise as sizeable contributions," she 
added.

Despite the funding shortfall, efforts to clean up and repair 
environmental and structural damage caused by the tsunami continue. The 
Ministry of Local Government, Sports and Culture has been using its 
"emergency brigades" to organise these operations.

A new permanent secretary was recently appointed to chair the committee 
managing the national emergency fund, in a bid to improve the 
coordination of information related to tsunami-response activities.

The UN plans to increase support to the Seychelles risk and disaster 
management secretariat, "particularly with regards to the consolidation 
and provision of information on tsunami-related response activities," 
OCHA noted.

Longer-term support to the secretariat will come from the UN Development 
Programme's project for improving early warning and disaster management 
systems.

"This project will support national tsunami early warning activities, as 
part of the government of Seychelles' participation with the [United 
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 
Organisation/Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission] UNESCO/IOC-led 
initiative to establish a regional tsunami early warning system in the 
Indian Ocean," OCHA noted.


IRIN-SA
Tel: +27 11 895-1900
Fax: +27 11 784-6759
Email: IRIN-SA@irin.org.za

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN 
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views 
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or 
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: IRIN@ocha.unon.org or Web: 
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this 
item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial 
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International                  web: www.cidi.org
     Disaster Information             listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                    guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
South Asia Tsunami                        www.cidi.org/incident/tsunami