NEW DELHI: Over half of the tsunami-affected people are back to work and economies are fast returning to normal, says a new report by Oxfam International.

The damage done to the economies of the affected countries threatened to push two million people into poverty: one million jobs were lost, 64,000 hectares of agricultural land was damaged and fishing families, small scale farmers, labourers, and those running small businesses were affected.

The report, "Back to Work," shows how a year after the tsunami, up to 60 per cent of people who lost their jobs are earning a living again. It is estimated that by the end of 2006 85 per cent of jobs will have been restored.

The report says that by 2007, about 1.4 million people will have been out of the poverty that they were forced into by the tsunami. About 84 per cent of the fishing boats destroyed in Sri Lanka were rebuilt or replaced. In Aceh, almost 70 per cent of damaged fishing boats were delivered or are being repaired, while thousands of hectares of land have been desalinated and saline resistant plants introduced. Farmers have already had successful harvests there.

Oxfam spent the largest chunk of its funds, about $ 27 million, in the first nine months on helping people regain their livelihoods. Working with others, it helped 375,000 people back into work, the report points out.

It says it will take between 2 to 5 years for the soil to regain full productivity.

The lack of access for local communities to markets also remains a problem. Oxfam International stressed the need to ensure that assistance did not remain concentrated on the most high profile livelihoods.

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