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Monday, Jan 17, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Beyond tsunami: an agenda for action

RELIEF IS in full swing in all the tsunami-hit areas of India. Medium- and long-term rehabilitation demands three things all along the coast. First, strengthening the ecological foundations of sustainable human security. Secondly, rehabilitating livelihoods and fostering sustainable livelihood security. Thirdly, putting in place a network of rural knowledge centres. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the National Commission on Farmers, proposes a systematic beyond-the-tsunami' agenda for action.

Every calamity, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has emphasised, presents an opportunity to equip ourselves to face with greater confidence and competence similar challenges in the future. The Government of India has announced that a Tsunami Early Warning System as well as a National Disaster Management Authority will be set up soon. Relief measures are in progress on an unprecedented scale. Three weeks after the titanic tsunami hit our coast and islands, we are in a position to begin rehabilitation efforts in three time dimensions:

The Immediate (January-March 2005): Water, shelter, sanitation, health, and revival of livelihoods; psychological rehabilitation; repair of catamarans; and achieving convergence and synergy among all ongoing programmes with similar objectives.

The Medium Term (2005-07): Ecological rehabilitation; agronomic rehabilitation; economic rehabilitation; and disaster preparedness, mitigation, and management.

The Long Term (2005-10): Strengthening environmental defence systems; enlarging opportunities for sustainable livelihoods based on a pro-nature, pro-poor, pro-women orientation to technology development and dissemination; and improving the productivity, profitability and sustainability of agriculture and fisheries.

In the immediate term, psychological rehabilitation must be taken up as a priority. Teams must be set up of men and women psychiatrists and trauma counsellors. They must cover the severely affected areas during the next few weeks to help the bereaved. Fishermen need to be assisted in overcoming fear of the sea. Farmers also need technical help and moral support. Destitute women should be rehabilitated in their own community and should not be herded in destitute homes, either old or new.

Another priority is livelihood rehabilitation. A Special Food for Livelihood Revival and Eco-Protection Programme should be initiated in all the affected areas. Such an open-ended food for work programme, which can be sanctioned for a year for now, should aim at creating assets for the tsunami-ravaged families. The precise priorities can be developed for each village in consultation with local panchayats and affected families. About 300,000 tonnes of food grains should be allotted immediately for this special programme.

The medium- and long-term programmes should cover all families along the coast — both fisher and farming families, including the families of those who have no assets like land, livestock, or fishpond. These programmes will fall under three broad groups. The first is strengthening the ecological foundations of sustainable human security. The second is rehabilitating livelihoods and fostering sustainable livelihood security. The third is putting in place a network of rural knowledge centres.

The ecological programme demands the following:

a) Initiate a coastal bio-shield movement along coastal areas: This involves the raising of mangrove forests, plantations of casuaria, salicornia, laucaena, atriplex, palms, bamboo and other tree species, and halophytes that can grow near the sea. These will serve as speed-breakers under conditions of coastal storms, cyclones, and tsunami. In addition, they will serve as carbon sinks, since they will help enhance carbon sequestration and thus contribute to reducing the growing imbalance between carbon emissions and absorption. Mangroves are very efficient in carbon sequestration. They also promote sustainable fisheries by releasing nutrients in the water. Further, they will provide additional income and make coastal communities eligible for carbon credit. The coastal bio-shield can also involve agro-forestry programmes like the intercropping of casuarina with hybrid pigeon pea (cajanus cajan) or red gram, to be undertaken by farming families. Thus the bio-shield movement will confer multiple benefits to local communities as well as to the country as a whole.

b) Promote peoples' participation in the conservation and enhancement of mangrove and other coastal wetlands, as well as coral reefs and coastal and marine biodiversity: A participatory mangrove forest management programme based on the guidelines already developed by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) should be introduced. Joint mangrove forest management is based on the successful model of joint forest management that is in progress in most parts of India. The super cyclone havoc in Orissa and the current tsunami calamity have created widespread awareness among the people on the role mangrove forests play in reducing the fury of cyclonic storms and tidal waves.

c) Promote the organisation of community nurseries of mangrove and other appropriate tree species chosen under the coastal bio-shield and agro-forestry programmes: Techniques for raising such nurseries have been standardised by the MSSRF. Community nurseries can be raised under the auspices of both forest departments and panchayats. Where appropriate, such nurseries can be raised on the basis of a buy-back arrangement. Farm families can raise nurseries and produce seeds of crops chosen for the agro-forestry programme.

d) Regenerate fisheries and foster a sustainable fisheries programme: The new fishing vessels and nets should be designed so that they do not disrupt the fish life cycle by catching young ones, and also do not destroy sea grass beds that serve as habitats for dugongs. The tsunami calamity provides an opportunity for achieving a paradigm shift from unsustainable to sustainable fisheries.

e) Raise artificial coral reefs: The work done in the Gulf of Mannar area indicates that artificial reefs can stimulate fish breeding and revival. These can be laid and managed by fisher self-help groups. NABARD can develop a special programme to promote the growth of such groups.

f) Managing marine biosphere reserves in a trusteeship mode: A trusteeship pattern of management of coastal bio-resources should be fostered. This will help local communities and government departments manage unique biological resources in a trusteeship mode. A beginning has been made in the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, but this system needs to get institutionalised all along the coast as well as in the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep group of islands.

g) Provide landward housing sites for fisher families: The new houses should respect the 500-metre restriction and should be ecologically designed. Had all fisherfolk been given housing sites on the landward side of coastal roads, the death toll from the tsunami would have been much lower. Anticipatory action against sea level rise also demands a human security driven design of coastal habitations. A group of architects should be assembled for this purpose immediately.

h) Construct sea walls and dykes: The construction of permanent sea walls can be taken up in places where there is sea erosion owing to heavy anthropogenic pressures. The locations for such non-living barriers should be determined on the basis of a carefully conducted erosion vulnerability analysis.

i) Undertake agronomic rehabilitation — reclamation of salinised soils: Seawater ingression has led to soil salinisation in some areas. A scientific team consisting of representatives of agricultural universities, the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research may be set up to survey the areas, study the nature and severity of the problem, and suggest remedial measures. This should be done within the next two months, so that farmers are able to resume normal farm operations without losing a crop season.

j) Develop a code of conduct for coastal ecological security: The serious loss of life and property inflicted by the tsunami highlights the vision and wisdom of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Nearly 24 years ago, she took steps to ensure that no permanent construction should be permitted within 500 metres of the high tide. We should not only strengthen this national resolve but also develop a code of conduct for construction beyond 500 metres. Such a code can consist of a package of rewards for initiatives in the areas of sunward oriented buildings, energy efficient construction, use of wind, tidal and solar energy, rainwater harvesting, use of local construction material, effluent treatment, and use of biodegradable material. The coastal ecological security literacy programme should bring to the attention of builders the opportunities now available for mainstreaming ecology in building design and construction.

k) Do vulnerability mapping: Based on an analysis of 100-year data, the areas prone to cyclones and other natural disasters can be mapped. Priority may be given to such areas in erecting bio-shields and in undertaking eco-restoration and erosion prevention measures. Agricultural vulnerability to potential changes in sea level should also be mapped. This task should be taken up immediately by a consortium of R & D institutions and IMD to be set up by the Government of India's Departments of Ocean Development and Science and Technology.

l) Promote sustainable management of coastal land and water resources: There must be scientific land and water use planning to prevent salinisation of ground water. Land and water use patterns based on principles of ecology, economics, and social and gender equity must be prepared by panchayats with the help of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, the farm universities concerned, and the forest, fisheries and agriculture departments of State Governments.

The livelihood programme has several components. A sustainable livelihood security strategy should be based on the principles of social inclusion and gender equity. It must cover fisher- and land-based farming communities as well as landless labour families. The following steps need to be taken under the livelihood programme:

a) Aquarian Reform: This is essential to foster harmony in the use of living aquatic resources by artesenal fishermen operating catamarans, and commercial families operating mechanised fishing boats and trawlers. The major aim of aquarian policy must be conservation of living aquatic resources; sustainable use; equitable sharing of benefits; and harmony between artesenal and mechanised fishing.

b) Integrated capture and culture fisheries — sea water farming: Fisher families, particularly women, can take up the rearing of prawns and suitable salt-tolerant fish species in canals along the sea coast, using low external input sustainable aquaculture (LEISA) techniques. Agro-aqua farms involving the concurrent cultivation of tree species and rearing of fish and prawns can be promoted to enhance income and employment opportunities. The tsunami tragedy can lead to the emergence of new sea farming communities well versed in production and post-harvest technologies, quality management, and value addition.

c) Coastal bio villages: The economy of coastal villages can be strengthened through the biovillage model of rural development. This involves the sustainable use of natural resources and the introduction of market-driven non-farm enterprises as well as value addition to primary products. It also involves a paradigm shift from unskilled to skilled work, resulting in the addition of economic value to time and labour. The coastal bio-village movement, to be fostered by panchayati raj institutions, should be based on a pro-nature, pro-poor, and pro-women orientation to enterprise development and adoption. An important component of coastal biovillages is the establishment of aquaculture estates that can help confer the power of scale to fisher families in the production, processing, and marketing of fish.

d) A coastal grid of farm schools and demonstration centres: Farm and fisher families practising the use of natural resources based on the principles of ecological economics can be chosen for establishing farm schools. Lateral learning among farmers and fisher families will be more effective than formal institutional learning, and they can go together. Demonstrations of environmentally sound sea farming techniques should be organised.

The third medium- and long-term programme is establishing a network of rural knowledge centres. The crucial importance of timely information in averting loss of life during natural calamities is now widely recognised. A network of rural knowledge centres must be established all along the coast as soon as possible. Such centres will use in an integrated way the internet, community (FM) radio, cable TV, and the Indian language press. They will provide generic as well as dynamic information, and help disseminate locale-specific and demand driven information. They will also serve as an integral part of the National Early Warning System.

For launching a rural knowledge revolution, four requirements need concurrent attention:

a) Connectivity: BSNL and other appropriate institutions can help establish broadband connectivity. Both wired and wireless technologies can be used.

b) Content: A consortium of content providers and data generators must establish a digital gateway for coastal ecological and livelihood security.

c) Capacity Building: This can be taken up under the overall umbrella of the Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy for Rural Prosperity and the National Alliance for Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge Centre. At least one woman and one man will need to be trained in every village as Master Trainers. They will be elected Fellows of the Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy. Training should be imparted in disaster preparedness and management, as well as in trade and quality literacy. Food safety issues and codex alimentarius standards should be highlighted in the training programmes.

The policy support needed for this programme has been spelt out in the report of the National Commission on Farmers titled "Serving Farmers and Saving Farming" submitted to the Government of India in December 2004. Even if there is an efficient early warning system, the information will have to reach the unreached, particularly fishermen at sea. A network of community radio (FM) centres must become an integral part of the coastal area knowledge connectivity.

d) Care and management: The rural knowledge centre must be located in a public space like a school or panchayat building so that there is equity in access. The centre can be managed by an information and communication technology (ICT) self-help group with support from NABARD.

A network of capacity building centres must be developed along the coast.

A resource centre for mangrove forest conservation, rehabilitation, and expansion is urgently needed. Further, training modules must be prepared in local languages on a wide range of topics relating to both ecological and livelihood security.

In sum, the tsunami disaster has provided a unique opportunity for launching through public-private sector partnership an integrated psychological, ecological, agronomic, and livelihood rehabilitation programme. To succeed, such programmes need to be people centred and managed by local communities with appropriate guidance and support from government and panchayati raj institutions. Government agencies, academia, and local communities should jointly develop integrated coastal zone management plans that will help transform sustainable development from a desirable objective into a practical reality.

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