Indonesia

Example of modular housing in Tsunami reconstruction

The question of where to source the wood for reconstruction arose early in the emergency relief phase and has became a complex, dynamic and politically sensitive issue. FAO fielded the current consultant for a mission in Indonesia from 6 March to 6 April 2005 to collect wood supply and demand data and to provide advice to facilitate the supply of wood products from sustainably managed forests for reconstruction. The report from the consultancy provides the information collected on wood demand and supply for reconstruction

Through an advertorial in Aceh Kita, Fauna and Flora International confirmed that illegal timbers had been used in construction of houses by Istanbul International Brotherhood and Solidarity Association (IBS), Mamamia (local NGO funded by Caritas Germany and Austria), and construction of boats by Medecins sans Frontieres.

...Authorities blamed heavy rains and deforestation for the latest destruction. Legal and illegal logging leaves ground less able to absorb excess water as well as more prone to landslides. Deforestation destroys the ecosystem and the battle against illegal logging should be stepped-up, Attorney-General Abdul Rahman Saleh told Reuters on Saturday.

...the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR), World Wide Fund for Nature Indonesia (WWF), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) hosted a "Marketplace for Sustainably-Sourced Timber" in Medan, Indonesia on July 5-6, 2006.

Tens of thousands of Indonesian survivors of the 2004 Asian tsunami are still living in rotting tents, despite a months-long campaign to rehouse them, because the International Federation of the Red Cross has struggled to secure legally certified timber, it emerged yesterday.

A recent report by Greenomics Indonesia revealed some very interesting facts about who exactly is to blame for the delays affecting the reconstruction process in Aceh.

WWF is partnering in the United States with the American Forest \& Paper Association (AF\&PA) and Conservation International (CI) to send responsibly-sourced timber to Aceh.

...Oxfam Australia has previously exported 8,500 cubic metres of sustainable Australian timber to Sri Lanka at the request of the government there which had identified a shortage of local wood. This was the largest export of Australian timber to a single source ever and the largest amount of timber ever imported from a single source by Sri Lanka.

A quarter of the 50,000 homes built for victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia’s Aceh province are of questionable quality and many will have to be rebuilt...

Against an increasingly difficult background characterised by tough trading conditions and environmental activism over illegal wood, UK Timber Trade Federation (TTF) members met on June 4th, 2003 to discuss the prospects of securing legal wood from Indonesia.

Since 1997 EIA has worked in partnership with an Indonesian organisation called Telapak. Together, we have exposed rampant illegal logging in National Parks, worked with other organisations and communities throughout Indonesia and promoted ideas and information to improve forest policy in Indonesia and throughout the world.

This study will discuss the assessment of the need for imported timber in each district/municipality in the Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), covering: (a) construction of accommodation barracks, (b) construction of low-cost healthy housing, (c) construction of schools, (d) construction of public facilities such as hospitals, public health clinics, and houses of worship, and (e) the supply of fishing fleets, including the specification required for imported timber for Aceh. The study will highlight on the potential threats to Aceh’s forests affected by the timber requirements for Aceh’s reconstruction. It will also discuss the facilities and any import dispensations that the Indonesian Government may grant to support the aid timber import that will assist in Aceh’s reconstruction.

...Garras explained that UNHCR's policy was to support the Indonesian economy by buying all the timber for the project in-country.

Cross-cutting issues post-tsunami.