MALE, December 24 - The Asian Tsunami hit the Maldives harder than any other Asian country, both economically and in terms of the percentage of landmass affected. The predicament of the Maldives has nevertheless been eclipsed by the tragic human toll of the Tsunami in other, larger affected countries and the greater exposure of these countries to the international media. The result is that the Maldives suffers from a large financing gap between what the country needs in order to recover and what has so-far been pledged. As we approach the one year anniversary of the Tsunami, this needs-reality financing gap currently stands at $113 million. This shortfall poses a major threat to the Maldives’ long-term recovery. Without urgent help, the financing gap could cause the Maldives to miss the UN’s Millennium Development Goals – goals it had previously been on target to meet.

Damage caused to the Maldives by the Tsunami

Nearly one third of the Maldives’ 300,000 inhabitants were severely affected by the Tsunami in one way or another, with 82 confirmed dead, over 1,300 injured and around 12,000 people (7% of the population) made homeless. Only nine of the 200 inhabited islands escaped flooding, and nine islands that were previously above sea level are now completely submerged and lost – the map of the Maldives will have to be redrawn. In addition, the Tsunami virtually destroyed a further 14 islands, three of which have had to be permanently abandoned.

However, it is the damage wreaked on the Maldives’ economy and environment which provides the greatest long-term concern. The tourism sector suffered the largest direct losses, with estimated damages of around $100 million - nearly a quarter of the 87 tourist resorts were damaged and had to be shut for repairs. Fishermen and farmers were also affected, as fishing fleets were damaged and farming land contaminated with salt.

Overall, the United Nations Development Programme estimates that the Tsunami set back development in the Maldives by 20 years and threw 39,000 people into poverty. Growth predictions for 2005 were accordingly revised down from 5% to 1%.

Needs

Although it is impossible to put a precise monetary value on the damage caused by the Tsunami, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the UN (in a Joint Needs Assessment published in February 2005) put the figure required to reconstruct public assets and restore lost government revenue in the Maldives at $364 million – close to 62% of the country’s GDP. The Maldives Government estimated its needs to be $374.9 million.

The Reconstruction Process

Despite these challenges, the Maldives, with the support of friends including the European Union, is making significant progress in its efforts to recover and rebuild the lives of affected citizens.

The centrepiece of the Maldives recovery efforts is its “Safe Islands Programme”, which is based on voluntary migration of island communities to larger islands with better economic opportunities and strengthened environmental resilience. It also set up a Post-Tsunami Emergency Relief and Reconstruction Project, christened ‘Recovery Plus’ (e.g. building temporary shelters, housing repair and reconstruction). The Maldives has requested that assistance from local and international donors be paid into its Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation Fund, which it set up as a means of ensuring accountability and transparency.

International assistance

Whilst the Maldives is very grateful for the assistance it has so far received, it urges the international community not to consider the job finished but to work to address a major outstanding concern: the continued gap between what the Maldives needs to rebuild the country and what so-far has been pledged by the international community.

International aid pledged so-far falls short of what is needed to adequately fund the recovery and reconstruction effort. The ADB-World Bank-UN Joint Needs Assessment for the Maldives put the figure required to fund the recovery and reconstruction of the Maldives at $364. The Maldives Government’s own assessment estimates the amount needed to be approximately $375 million. Against this figure, the Maldives has so far received international pledges of only around $262 million, which leaves a funding gap between aid needed and aid pledged of around $113 million. As the World Bank-ADB-UN have clearly stated, “foreign financing received or pledged so far falls far short of the estimated reconstruction needs [of the Maldives]”. The Maldives therefore urgently needs more aid to be pledged.