Strengthening resilience

The overall goal of the project is to reduce the vulnerability of the poor in coastal communities to natural disasters. This will be accomplished through strengthening local capacities, livelihoods, and protective forest belts, with access to strategic and transformative information services by local people and organizations. Women will be key beneficiaries.

The project will be implemented in India (Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh) by the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and in Sri Lanka, by Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, with special activities and leadership by Practical Action in two of the 12 proposed sites there, and direct collaborative involvement of the Department of Forestry in Sri Lanka.

The project will focus on the following

1. Identify suitable village-based sites for mangrove and non-mangrove bioshield development in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh; and in the Districts of Hambantota, Kalmunai, Batticoloa and Trincomalee in Sri Lanka.
2. Develop and demonstrate new techniques, methods and management strategies to rehabilitate, establish and sustain mangrove and non-mangrove bioshields.
3. Increase awareness and benefits for women and women’s groups, men and youth in technical, social and economic terms from the management of coastal forest bio shields and related resources.
4. Document and disseminate best practices of bioshield development and management through multimedia toolkit and distance learning among various stakeholders and VKCs / VICs.
5. Enhance the capacity of managers and government organizations, local NGOs, local elected officials, young scholars and scientists, administrators, and policy makers in ICT-enabled coastal development and bioshield management through training, seminars, education and awareness programmes.
6. Strengthen the livelihoods of women and the poor in tsunami-affected village sites through improved access to natural resources and to information services.
7. Increase the quality, quantity and local relevance of VKC / VIC information content to improve conditions for both men and women.
8. Build the capacity of local organizations to prepare for and mitigate natural disasters using local knowledge and external expertise accessible through VKCs / VICs.
9. Analyze links between gender, livelihoods and natural disasters in tsunami-affected coastal villages, particularly in Sri Lanka.