Rehabilitating livelihoods following natural disasters

Half the world's poor live in coastal areas. These areas are often already under threat due to poorly planned development but challenges are made worse with natural disasters and climate change causing more floods and extreme weather events such as hurricanes.

 

 

In developing countries it is the fishing communities, the vast majority living in poverty along the coast, that are often the worst affected. Following the 2004 Asian tsunami, WorldFish and partners developed a framework to rehabilitate livelihoods following such natural disasters. WorldFish applied its approach following the November 2007 tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands and in the wake of hurricane Sidr that killed over 3,000 people, flattened villages, caused hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and affected up to seven million Bangladeshis.

 

This short video shows how one remote fishing community in Aceh is benefiting from rehabilitation efforts that put the community at the heart of planning and implementing new options for the future.

Click here for a brief on WorldFish's work with partners to rehabilitate livelihoods following natural disasters.

Link to additional information on vulnerability and disaster management:

Tackling tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean
Tropical cyclones give developing countries much needed rain for agriculture. But as the earth warms, they are set to become more intense, and strong cyclones can cause great loss of life and property. This is especially true in South Asia, where the Bay of Bengal's shallow coastal waters, high tides and densely populated low-lying areas make cyclones particularly deadly. October 8th was International Day for Disaster Reduction, and to highlight the issues facing South Asia, SciDev.Net published a set of articles to inform policymakers, researchers and international donors about ways of improving cyclone management. The online resource focuses on the impact cyclones have in South Asia and how countries can better forecast, prepare for and adapt to future cyclones, as well as cope with the impacts of extreme events. It highlights lessons learnt from countries like Bangladesh, India and Madagascar.