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IWMI tsunami relief update (February 16, 2005)

IWMI’s immediate response to the Tsunami that devastated a large area of the Sri Lankan coastline included six emergency supply missions, followed by a CGIAR system-wide appeal to raise funds to support the rehabilitation and recovery process. (http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/tsunami/) In addition to its own initiatives, IWMI is collaborating with CGIAR partners and other local and international organizations to support the long-term rehabilitation process. The ‘IWMI-Tsunami Relief Group’ was formed to facilitate coordination and ensure fast and meaningful responses. They could be contacted at iwmi-tsunami-relief@cgiar.org

IWMI staff gathering data on tsunami damage to  coastal ecosystem at Kahandamodara, Hambantota

Mapping Support
In the days following the Tsunami, the IWMI RS/GIS group collaborated with MapAction UK at the Sri Lanka Government's Center for National Operations (CNO). The IWMI RS/GIS Group and MapAction worked around the clock to create a constantly updated GIS database, providing mapping support for the Government of Sri Lanka and organizations involved in the relief effort.

Following the departure of the main MapAction team on 19 January, IWMI continued to provide specific forms of assistance to the Survey Department for a further two weeks. The situation maps were also published on the CNO web site as well as the IWMI web site. An initiative is currently underway to standardize the mapping efforts and GIS base across all organizations and to focus on detailed work at Grama Niladari (GN) level in order to assist in reconstruction assessment work.

The Survey Department, initially assisted by IWMI, hosts regular co-ordination meetings for all GIS groups in government agencies, universities, NGOs, consultants and UN agencies. A full-time volunteer GIS coordinator will be working with the Survey Department for three months from mid-February. The situation maps are posted on the CNO website: http://www.cnosrilanka.org/.
They can also be downloaded from the following link: http://csi.cgiar.org/tsunami_maps/tsunami_maps.html

Further information on mapping can be obtained from Hugh Turral (h.turral@cgiar.org) or Biradar Chandrashekar (c.biradar@cgiar.org)of IWMI.

Needs Assessment in the coastal regions of the Ruhuna Benchmark Basin
IWMI has carried out two rounds of Focus Group Discussions in over 15 Grama Niladari divisions in the Hambantota district in the south of Sri Lanka. A report consisting of 14 case studies has been prepared on the impact of the tsunami on the livelihoods of communities in the Hambantota district.

Mapping of the Tsunami-Affected Boundary Line (TABL) for the Hambantota district has also been completed. IWMI’s assessments reveal that areas below 6m elevation have been critically affected (72%). IWMI is continuing the assessments in the Galle and Matara districts.

The Master Plan for Reconstruction and Development of Hambantota is being prepared by the Prime Minister’s Special Coordination Office for Relief and Rehabilitation Activities. Information gathered from IWMI’s needs assessment in the south is expected to contribute towards the development of this Plan.

A two-day rapid assessment on the impacts of the tsunami on the coastal wetlands from Hambantota to Colombo - with an emphasis on the Hambantota District was carried out by a team of IWMI Researchers. The team evaluated the physical damage and changes caused by the tsunami on coastal wetlands. The main coastal wetlands surveyed were: lagoons (Karagan and Kalametiya); estuaries (Walawe and many other small estuaries along the south coast); mangroves (Kalametiya and on river estuaries); sand dunes (Hambantota) and coral reefs (Hikkaduwa).

Some observations of the two day rapid-assessment:

Lagoons
The team investigated changes/alterations to natural formations. For example, before the tsunami struck, the Kalametiya lagoon had been a closed system separated by a sand bar. The tsunami had completely destroyed a section of the sand bar and the remainder had been drastically reduced, thus increasing its vulnerability.

Estuaries
Estuaries or river mouths appeared to have acted as the entry points from the sea causing inland destruction even where there were undisturbed beach areas with vegetation. A preliminary evaluation by an IWMI team visiting the Walawe Estuary mouth revealed heavy damage, although observations about 200m upstream indicated minimal physical damage.

Mangroves
Due to their root systems which are resistant to water surges, mangroves were expected to have been minimally affected by the tsunami and reports from various sources around the country seemed to confirm this. However, in Kalametiya, large mangrove trees of Sonneratia sp. had collapsed at a distance of about 200m from the beach area.

Sand dunes
The sand dunes on the Hambantota coast which are vegetated with Casurina trees and invasive shrub species seemed to have protected the immediately adjacent areas inland, although there were certain areas where seawater had washed over and eaten into the dunes creating ditches, possibly during the backwash.

Coral reefs
Personal observations at the Hikkaduwa Nature Reserve revealed limited damage to the existing reef structure other than for a few toppled boulder corals and a few lesions. But the boats and the hotels on the beach were severely damaged.

For more information on the Rapid Needs Assessment in the coastal regions of the Ruhuna Benchmark Basin, please contact Sarath Abayawardana (s.abayawardana@cgiar.org)

Preliminary assessments in the east coast
Preliminary assessments in the east coast have indicated that IWMI can contribute towards studying the effects of salinization of groundwater, well cleaning operations and providing technical support in the medium term. Karen Villholth, IWMI’s groundwater specialist, visited the area in late January to identify possible collaborations. IWMI is also supporting various communities with technical advice on groundwater and agriculture in this area. Information material on well cleaning has been developed and disseminated to the water and sanitation groups on the East coast.

Potential IWMI interventions
As the scale of damage to the country’s agricultural sector is still being assessed, IWMI researchers are also looking at how research recommendations could influence decision-making in both short-term relief and longer-term rehabilitation efforts, particularly in the water and sanitation sector. A number of initiatives are being pursued with other collaborators such as the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), ARC Seibersdorf research GmbH and Chemonics International.

Other CG Centre initiatives in Sri Lanka

International Rice Research Iinstitute (IRRI) visits Sri Lanka
Joe Rickman and Mark Bell of IRRI visited the Tsunami-affected areas in Sri Lanka in early February, to carry out a needs assessment. The knowledge gained through their visit, together with information already gathered from Hambantota on the effects of the tsunami on agricultural lands will form the basis for future interventions. The initial view of the IRRI Report is that the affects on agricultural land is not major and that rehabilitation will take place with simple flushing activity.

International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) to work with IWMI in Dodanduwa
IWMI will be supporting IPGRI’s work in the coastal village of Dodanduwa in Southern Sri Lanka where all sources of water have been flooded with sea water. IPGRI has been working with the people of Dodanduwa for several years now on a poverty reduction project that helped expand the micro credit capital in the village. Project partners included the Siyath Foundation and the Sri Lanka Coconut Research Institute.

Local relief/rehabilitation work in Sri Lanka is being coordinated by IWMI (Sarath Abayawardana,s.abayawardana@cgiar.org, head of the IWMI Sri Lanka Programme) and work in Aceh is coordinated by ICRAF (Meine van Noordwijk, m.van- noordwijk@cgiar.org, regional coordinator of ICRAF in Southeast Asia).