The Tsunami’s greatest impact has been on rural coastal communities. Before the tsunami, the men, women and children in these communities were highly dependent on coastal fisheries, agriculture, aquaculture and forestry. But the natural resources supporting these livelihoods were already severely depleted due to unsustainable practices.

Coastal fisheries were already at alarmingly low levels before the disaster. Unsustainable forestry, agriculture and aquaculture practices had already severely hurt the environment. Two of the ravaged regions were also experiencing conflict. Given such circumstances, few of these communities could ever hope to free themselves from poverty.

One small step towards helping these people is now underway, following a recent seminar in Bogor involving representatives from the Consultative Group on Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and a range of Indonesian and international institutions.

The seminar featured presentations from a range of stakeholders on the overall challenge of rebuilding Aceh and in particular the many challenges facing Aceh’s agricultural sector.

In his opening address, Pak Hadi Pasaribu, Director General of Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry Research and Development Agency and a member of CIFOR’s Board of Trustees, said over one hundred Ministry of Forestry staff had lost their lives in disaster. 

“But let’s now try and forget the horror of what has happened. Today we are here to look at the challenges facing us and the areas we need to focus on,” Pasaribu said.

One area of focus, noted Pasaribu, was likely to be the rehabilitation of mangrove forests, following reports that coastlines with mangrove cover may have suffered less damage.

Ibu Nita Kartika from Indonesia’s National Planning and Development Agency (BAPPENAS) said the recovery would involve six to 12 months of emergency relief, 18-24 months of restoring basic services, and five years for complete infrastructure reconstruction. According to Ibu Nia, involving the Acehnese in reconstruction planning and decisions was vital - a theme repeated by speakers throughout the day.

ICRAF Regional Coordinator, Mr. Meine van Noordwijk, urged CGIAR centers and their partners to share information and engage in a community-led process. “Rebuilding livelihoods . . . must be done in a cooperative way. We need to find where we can best contribute to the Indonesian and international efforts involved in Aceh’s recovery,” van Noordwijk said. 

“Forests as safety-nets, agroforestry, rice, fisheries and landscape management are all inter-linked and are vital to long-term livelihoods. And they are all areas covered by the CGIAR’s research,” van Noordwijk said. 

One of the key presentations came from Aceh Socio-Cultural lecturer, Pak M. Saad, a member of the National Human Rights Commission.

Saad began with the rhetorical question, “How do we want to rebuild Aceh? If we rebuild Aceh as it was before the Tsunami, we’re throwing away a golden opportunity.”

“Aceh was one of the world’s five centers of excellence in the 17th century. It was a center of knowledge and Islamic wisdom. Even Marco Polo visited Aceh. The Acehnese enjoyed close relations with people from Malaka, the Netherlands, India and the Middle East.”

But Hasballah said we must also look forward and consider how Aceh should look in 20 or 30 years time. The Aceh of today is far removed from the Aceh of hundreds of years ago. He stressed the importance of engaging the local people in rebuilding Aceh’s future.

“Lots of people are shouting out about how the people of Aceh must be involved. But this involvement must be more than just doing the work, being suppliers or assisting projects. It must involve the people of Aceh in giving their input and vision and hopes about how Aceh should be re-built,”

Mr. Saad said several issues underpinned Aceh’s successful reconstruction, including respecting Aceh’s predominantly Muslim status, encouraging integration with Indonesia by respecting Aceh’s traditional values, and allowing Aceh to engage with the international community. 

Also making presentations were representatives from the World Fish Center, IPGRI, IRRI, CIP, FAO, the Bogor Agricultural University, Syiah Kuala University, SEAMO-Biotrop, Indonesia Center for Animal R&D, the Remote Sensing GIS Forum, the Soil Research Institute and an Acehnese student association. Between them these institutions and groups provided a range of issues and research areas for consideration in rebuilding local livelihoods in Aceh. 

These included looking into the role that farming sweet-potatoes and coconuts might play through to ensuring women receive livelihood skills and examining the capacity building needs of local agricultural institutions. 

A major outcome of the seminar was the decision for the CGIAR centers, research partners and national government representatives to develop joint agriculture-rehabilitation proposals. One proposal has already been submitted to the Asian Development Bank. 

Participants at the seminar noted the importance of adopting an entire landscape approach - from sea to upland forests - in any future rehabilitation efforts. An integrated, natural resource management approach will help different sectors complement each other in providing diverse and sustainable livelihoods. 

CIFOR hopes to assist in developing new forestry and land management policies by drawing on its data from the 1990s Asian financial crisis, when millions of Indonesians were thrown into poverty. CIFOR’s research shows that forests played a key “safety net” role in providing livelihood assistance and subsistence needs. 

CIFOR also undertakes forest rehabilitation research and will seek advice from the Ministry on how it might assist with any future mangrove rehabilitation program. Assisting Acehnese students and universities is also high on CIFOR’s capacity building agenda. 

Other major outcomes of the day’s meeting included:

1. A joint commitment to four operational principles:

·      Sharing information about activities, existing information and access ('public goods')

·      Using a 'livelihood' approach to integrated natural resource management and supporting local communities to make their own choices

·      Rebuilding local capacity in research and development and supporting Acehnese universities and schools through direct involvement

·      Linking policy discussions to “best knowledge” and insights on sustainable use and long term consequences

2. The formation of four working groups dealing with:

·      Databases and technical information, linked to the RSGIS Forum

·      Integrated Natural Resource Management in livelihood development

·      Human resources and educational support

·      Institutional rebuilding and liaising with national rehabilitation planning

For further details please visit:
http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/W-New/aceh.asp