Introduction

The tsunami that hit Sri Lanka on 26 December 2004 caused the death of at least 34,000 people and left more than 700,000 homeless in its wake. More than 80,000 houses were completely destroyed. Damage to the infrastructure and the economy is estimated at more than USD 2.5 billion, with World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the Japanese Bank of Investment assessing the aid needed by Sri Lanka at nearly USD 1.5 billion.

The reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka faces specific challenges, as the country has gone through 20 years of civil war and a political solution for the conflict in Sri Lanka between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority has not yet been achieved.

In February 2002, a ceasefire was agreed to by the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but official negotiations for a peaceful settlement have so far not been successful. Recent talks regarding the ceasefire between the GOSL and the LTTE were held in Geneva, Switzerland, but have since broken down. It is clear that the disaster severely affected communities across the ethnic divide, and that in the face of common adversity, a sense of shared purpose was evident among the people of the North, East and the South in rebuilding lives and livelihoods together. However, the space created in the immediate aftermath for a more meaningful engagement and a better process of cooperation is now contracting, with the pre-disaster dynamics of the North-South relationship in the context of an unresolved conflict being reasserted.

It is therefore vital that the measures proposed and undertaken do not serve to exacerbate these tensions, but rather, seek to offer viable alternatives to the re-enactment or replication of the conflict in the reconstruction process of the entire island. The major concern of the reconstruction effort is to avoid worsening the contradictions and fault-lines between the conflict parties, and to contribute to intermediary reconciliation attempts and to foster future peaceful co-existence.

Therefore all IICP activities are based on the principles of conflict sensitive reconstruction.

Conflict sensitivity in general means the ability to

• understand the context in which one operates;
• understand the interaction between the intervention and the context;
• act upon the understanding of this interaction, in order to avoid negative impacts and maximize positive impact

In the specific context of Sri Lanka, the IICP is lead by the following guidelines for a coordinated conflict-sensitive approach for reconstruction:

•  Fair equitable distribution of aid and transparent selection

Due to the political situation, Sri Lankan actors might not be in the position to distribute the aid in a fair and equitable manner. Even if the GOSL tries its best to do so, the conflict parties do not have sufficient confidence in each other. Reciprocal accusations, which would escalate the conflict, are unavoidable.

Donors therefore have to take measures to ensure that the aid will reach all Sri Lankan communities (Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim) in all parts of the country (including the LTTE controlled areas) evenly and that their selections to where to channel the aid will be clearly communicated to all conflict parties and will be transparent to all stake-holders.
Reconstruction efforts co-ordinated in this way, can contribute to trust building between the different communities.

•  Participatory and needs oriented approach to reconstruction

The community needs to be involved in the planning and implementation of any intervention. The people should not become passive recipients of aid. They have a clear idea of what is needed, and what their own capabilities are in terms of contributing to the intervention and maintaining it on a long-term basis. Involving the community would significantly contribute towards the sustainability of the intervention and increase the sense of ownership which the recipient community will have.

'Doling out' aid may increase the sense of helplessness felt by affected communities and create an unhealthy sense of dependency, that will hinder the communities' own progress towards recovery.

Active involvement can increase principles of subsidiarity and active participation in decision-making can increase consensus-based democratization processes.

Additionally, the survivors of the tsunami not only lost their homes, but also their livelihoods. To actively involve the people in the reconstruction of their own houses and to pay them for their work ("cash for work") will create an intermediary livelihood for them.

•  Balance between "fast reconstruction" and "sustainable development"

Housing needs to be provided quickly, but careful planning is essential before the construction of homes begins. Rather than supporting a mere "Housing" programme, a comprehensive approach for the rebuilding of communities and villages should be encouraged. The survivors should not only be involved in having input into their physical needs (infrastructural, water, housing, waste, energy, transport, work, recreation), but also into their social/educational needs (schools, play areas, meeting places, markets, nature areas) as well as their spiritual/cultural needs (temples, kovils, churches, mosques).

It is quite likely that the needs of the surviving population will be different from the pre-tsunami period, and therefore the villages will reflect that change. Also current state-of-the-art of sustainable living such as rainwater collection, solar electricity, recycling etc. is taken into consideration. The project is not about reconstructing the pre-tsunami poverty.

•  Strengthening of local capacities and civil society

Any sustainable intervention needs to draw on the local capacities for reconstruction, even to the extent of engaging the beneficiaries themselves to construct their own houses, rather than bringing in international construction companies. Preferably, structures including all stakeholders should be created starting from the district levels up to the state level. In the long term, those structures can contribute towards the introduction of a functioning federal system in Sri Lanka.

Special attention is given to the strengthening of civil society, which can serve as the watch dog for transparency as well as a driving force for building bridges between the various communities.

•  Addressing the tsunami disaster in the framework of existing achievements towards the peaceful settlement of the conflict

Any intervention needs to maintain the principles and understanding on which the CFA (cease fire agreement) is built upon.

•  Effective co-ordination and information sharing

Given the influx of aid for relief and reconstruction, it is unlikely that any organisation will be operating by itself in any community or geographical area. It is important to co-ordinate the projects that are taking place. The interventions have to be seen as part of the larger picture of what is taking place within the country. Especially important is the co-ordination between governmental, LTTE and civil society efforts.