6. Government emergency assistance and rehabilitation plan and strategy

6.1 Government plan, strategy and priority to address emergency needs

a. Coastal fishery

A first step assistance plan was immediately carried out by the Department of Fisheries which established the Fisheries Rescue Coordination Centre at the Andaman Marine Fisheries Research and Development Centre in Phuket in order to collect all relevant data pertaining to the damaged fisheries and to rescue the victims and boats in the six provinces.

All DOF facilities and staff in those six provinces, supported by staff from the headquarters, were involved in this rescue plan. Twenty DOF fishery patrol boats, the Mahidol Research Vessel and the MV SEAFDEC Research Vessel were able to rescue 1 548 victims, 517 dead bodies, 189 fishing boats, 2 190 fish cages, 150 units of fishing gears and 43 engines. The Rescue Centre also provided 3 636 first aid kits and food to the victims.

The second stage of the DOF emergency plan was to compensate the victims in cash for their losses or damaged boats, fishing gears and aquafarms. This DOF compensation programme can assist the victims to start up their fishing/aquafarming activities and restore their livelihoods. In many provinces, the governors have already advanced US$ 50-125 per victim for those items that are very urgently needed before approval of the DOF compensation budget by the cabinet.

US$34.5 million aid was allocated to Ranong (US$13 553 000), Phang-Nga (US$ 5 297 000), Phuket (US$5 204 000), Krabi (US$4 198 000), Trang (US$1 510 000) and Satun (US$4 691 000). Claims will be compensated by cash payment according to the actual cost of damage or loss, but will not exceed the maximum budget item as in Table 10.

Table 10 DOF budget for emergency assistance to fishery sector

Source: DoF, January 2005

b. Coastal aquaculture

Table 11 DOF budget for emergency assistance to aquaculture sector

Source: DoF, January 2005

Victims are also eligible to submit requests to the DOF for additional compensation if some registered items have not yet been covered or correctly estimated. The government is now seeking soft loans (i.e. one year interest free) for shrimp feed (approximately US$ 9 230/farm) and fish feed (approximately US$ 770/farm).

c. Agriculture/livestock

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) surveyed the number of affected farmers and areas of crop damage in order to prepare a list of victims eligible for compensation that will be paid according to the rules and regulations of MOAC. Table 12 provides an overview of the compensation plan. In addition to the compensations, the MOAC also distributed vegetable seeds donated by the private sector to DOAE. The DOAE has requested 27 million baht for the rehabilitation programme in the six tsunami-affected provinces.

Table 12 Compensation for damage to crops

Source: Department of Agricultural Extension, 26 January 2005.

The procedure of identifying eligible livestock farmers for compensation was similar to that for the crops sector. The compensations will be calculated as shown in Table 13. The DLD also provided animal feed and drugs for treatment of sick animals. The DLD has no fixed plan yet to request a special budget for rehabilitation of the tsunami-affected livestock. The cost of the compensation as mentioned above will be paid from the Provincial Emergency Budget.

Table 13 Compensation for damages to livestock

Sources: Department of Livestock Development, 28 January 2005.

d. Mangrove and other coastal forests

As the damage to mangrove forests was only 1 910 rai (about 306 ha) or less than one percent of the total mangrove forests in the tsunami affected six provinces, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, did not give high priority to a mangrove rehabilitation programme as can be seen from the amount of money currently allocated for this task.

A specific Government compensation plan for the mangrove and coastal forestry sector for individual victims/communities was not available at the time when the mission took place.

6.2 Government rehabilitation programme

Because of the national elections in early February, no medium/long-term strategy and rehabilitation programmes had been approved at the time of the joint mission. However, the government has established the Task Force III for Community Livelihood to coordinate with other agencies and donors working on rehabilitation.

The Department of Fisheries develops the Fisheries Rehabilitation Plan affected by the tsunami both for coastal resources and for the victims in fishing communities. It contains two schemes, i.e. Livelihood Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation and Coastal Fisheries Resource Rehabilitation, comprising phases covering immediate needs, short-term rehabilitation, medium-term rehabilitation and long-term rehabilitation with identified needs in household/village as well as at institutional levels^[8]. The details are as follows:

a. Livelihoods Rehabilitation

Household/Village Level

Direct immediate/short-term support needs identified so far include items such as:

• Fishing equipment and gear (boats, engines, engine parts, nets, traps etc.) replacement and repair

• Fishing boat replacement and repair/shipyard building

• Communication equipment and system for fishing operation both for small-and large-scale fishers

• Fish landing areas and piers rebuilding and repair

• Minor equipment and facilities for fish handling such as buckets, insulated boxes, cold storage at fishing piers

• Major “non-fishing” items such as houses

• Access to aquaculture inputs (fish seed, cage reconstruction materials)

• Access to flexible forms or low interest of micro finance/credit particularly for large scale fishermen, shrimp hatchery operators, fish landing operators, fish handling operators.

Medium-term/long-term counselling and capacity building needs among fishers and their organisations identified so far include:

• Training in natural disaster and sea safety for habitants in fishing communities, including the development of a demonstration fishing community for early warning on natural disasters such as a radio warning system, an escape pattern when a disaster has occurred;

• Training fishers in boat building and repair

• Capacity building for village fisher organisations in micro-credit and revolving fund management

• Training in alternative marine-based livelihoods such as sea farming or offshore fish cage culture

• Planning for recovery among village fisher organisations particularly on quality of life

Institutional Level

Medium-term/long-term capacity building is also required among supporting institutions, including government and NGOs including:

• Training of DOF personnel on food safety particularly on toxicology analysis techniques to address concerns of the public about safety of seafood that has depressed local markets and for longer term monitoring

• Training for the trainers (DOF officers and TAO officers) on natural disaster and sea safety

• Participatory planning and/or co-management on coastal zone and fisheries resources management

• Responsible fisheries and aquaculture management

b. Coastal and Fisheries Resources Rehabilitation

Institutional Level

Medium-term/long-term

Coastal and Fisheries resource assessment and rehabilitation - provide mapping of fisheries resources and develop mitigation plans such as the restoration of fish habitats, mangrove rehabilitation, and so on.

Enhance the capacity of Marine Research and Development Center of Andaman Sea in Phuket, and the Units in Phang-Nga and Satun in order strengthen their capacity in the assessment, monitoring and rehabilitation programme for the fisheries resources and coastal areas in the six affected provinces of Andaman.

c. Agriculture/livestock

An Earthquake and Tsunami Early Warning System will be established in cooperation with various international bodies. MOAC will assist in the rehabilitation of the affected crop and livestock farms.

DOAE surveyed the crop damage for a rehabilitation programme involving crop replanting in the six affected provinces. The medium/long-term rehabilitation programme in the agriculture sector hasn’t yet been finalized by the Ministry at the time when the mission took place in January 2005.

d. Mangrove and other coastal forests

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources has not yet prepared a specific plan to rehabilitate the destroyed mangrove forest because of a negligible level of damage. On the other hands, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has drafted a master plan for the management of marine national parks on Thailand’s Andaman coast. Mangroves and other coastal forests outside of the protected areas will not be included in the plan. The Department hopes to coordinate the rehabilitation work with the existing marine park management plan, including environmental impact assessment work.

The Ministry of National Resources and Environment, in collaboration with other partners such as the Asian Development Bank, is planning to prepare a Regional Development Plan for the Tsunami Affected Andaman Region, which would focus on economic development, infrastructure, community development, natural resources and environmental rehabilitation, etc.

6.3 Government’s institutional arrangement to deliver emergency programme

a. Selection criteria of beneficiaries who receive compensation

Fisheries: In order to simplify the process of payment, the following most updated government criteria, as of 10 January 2005, for selection of beneficiaries (which was modified from the DOF compensation payment scheme for national disaster in 1998) are being used:

• Victims must have reported their claims within 30 days after the disaster at government offices in the six affected provinces.

• Victims must have been certified by Kor-Chor-Por-Or (District Committee for Assistance on National Disaster Victims) and Kor-Chor-Por-Jor (Provincial Committee for Assistance on National Disaster Victims).

• Victims must have been registered with DOF for boat operating licenses, fishing licenses and aquaculture operating licenses.

• Victims must have evidence of a damaged boat, supported by a certificate from the police station in that area.

It should be noted that few small-scale boats and aquafarms actually have DOF registered documents for boat operations, or fishing and aquaculture operations. Therefore, DOF has agreed to accept other supporting documents (i.e. a guarantee document from the village community committee) instead.

When there is no other evidence, the public announcement by a victim within the village is also acceptable evidence of damaged items in some provinces, if there is no objection for such a claim from any other villager.

It should be noted that some victims have still refused to report their claims because they do not want to be bothered with the burden of filling in all the necessary forms. In some cases victims might be afraid of income tax payment in the future if the value of reported activities exceeds the ceiling for tax exemption.

In some cases, inland farms were not located on titled land and therefore not legally recognized and cannot be registered.

It was observed that a large number of victims’ claims were not eligible due mainly to late submission (more than 30 days after the tsunami struck).

Photographs of the damage to each claimed item was acceptable in some provinces.

Agriculture/livestock: The affected farmers will be compensated by cash payment based on MOAC rules. Farmers will be paid on the basis of the damaged area of a specific crop, whereas in the case of livestock farmers will receive compensation on the basis of the number and type of dead and missing animals. Sick and affected surviving animals of the poor affected farmers are provided with drugs and hay as necessary.

b. Delivery mechanism

Fisheries: The DOF budget has been transferred to the Provincial Fisheries Offices of the six affected provinces. Compensation by cash has been or is being delivered to the victims at the District Administrative Office by the representative from the Provincial Fisheries Office under the supervision of the Chief District Officer and a representative from DOF Headquarters, Bangkok. In practice, the delivery was witnessed by village or district leaders in some districts.

Agriculture/Livestock: Compensation has been or is being paid at the district office in the presence of the Chief District Officer, a representative of the District Administrative Organization (Or-Bor-Tor), and the village headman.

c. Role of concerned government agencies/local authorities

Fisheries: The implementing government agencies in this emergency compensation programme are the Department of Fisheries and Provincial Administrative Offices of the six affected provinces with support from the following concerned agencies:

• Ministry of the Interior
• Ministry of Labour
• Ministry of Social Development and Human Security
• Prime Minister’s Office
• Royal Navy
• The Comptroller General’s Department
• Department of Sea Transportation and Commercial Navigation

• An Or-Bor-Tor member or village leader may play a role individually as a member of a village committee in certifying the claims and witnessing the payment of compensation in some districts.

Agriculture/livestock: The implementing government agencies in this emergency compensation programme for the agriculture and livestock sectors are the DOAE and the DLD, respectively. The provincial and district DOAE and DLD officers with the support of the district office and District Administrative Organization, and the village headman who acts as a witness and assistants at the village level, certify the victims and distribute the compensation. The budget has been transferred in advance to the provincial government.