Post-Tsunami Reconstruction Criticized by International Advocate Group

A report this week from international pressure group Tourism Concern is severely critical of some of the post-tsunami reconstruction in parts of South and South East Asia.

More than nine months after the disaster, Tourism Concern has found that because of land disputes related to the redevelopment of tourism, thousands of people remain homeless.

It´s also concerned that some tourism projects which had been considered inappropriate prior to last December´s tsunami will be given the green light to go ahead.

Displacement of communities, lack of local consultation, little or no evidence of responsible planning, distribution of aid agency money and the need for transparency and better coordination are some of the other issues examined in the report: Post-Tsunami Reconstruction and Tourism: A Second Disaster?

According to Tourism Concern´s director Patricia Barnett, "British donors gave a staggering £400 million to help those affected by the tsunami put their lives together again and yet people are still living in relief camps, unable to move back to their land. It´s crucial that these people are given the chance to start building a proper sustainable future for themselves."

The report is the result of research undertaken by Tourism Concern between May and September of this year together with first-hand accounts and consultation with stakeholders in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives. Its key findings are as follows.