June 2008
The Early Recovery Cluster and Network, Myanmar
Early Recovery Strategy
A community-driven approach to begin restoring lives and livelihoods in Myanmar, post-Cyclone Nargis
  1. Background

On 2 May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit the Ayeyarwady Delta and southern townships of Yangon division of Myanmar. An estimated 2.4 million people were affected by the cyclone in 40 townships. Government figures estimate the number of dead and missing persons at more than 130,000. Unofficial reports are as high as 180,000 people either dead or missing.

Immediately after the cyclone, the IASC Country Team adopted the cluster approach in order to strengthen its coordinated humanitarian response to the emergency.Eleven clusters were established, including an early recovery coordination mechanism, led by UNDP. Early recovery is coordinated by an Early Recovery Clusterconsisting of working groups for thematic areas not covered by other clusters, andan Early Recovery Network for inter-cluster coordination of early recovery.

Following a common approach, each of the clusters in Myanmar will develop their own early recovery strategy as it relates to their particular sector or thematic area eg. Health, Education, Shelter, etc. In so doing, we will seek to ensure that early recovery interventions are coherent, strive towards common goals, avoid gaps and minimize overlap. Within this process, the Early Recovery Cluster will focus on the areas of early recovery not covered by other clusters, and considered a priority for the collective success of the early recovery effort.

This document represents one part of a larger early recovery strategic planning process, which is at this point in time a work in progress. Together with the early recovery strategies of other clusters,this paper will form a comprehensive Early Recovery Strategic Framework. For now, parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 of this document, which describe a common objective and approach to early recovery,are relevant for all clusters in Myanmar; whereas part 5is specific to the work of the Early Recovery Cluster and early recovery section of the revised Humanitarian Appeal.

  1. Situation Analysis

The impact of the cyclone

Cyclone Nargis not only caused a devastating loss of life, but also had a significant impact on peoples’ lives and livelihoods, and on the capacity of communities to spontaneously recover from the disaster. The majority of the population in the disaster-affected area was already poor pre-cyclone Nargis. Significant segments of the population were experiencing extremely difficult socio-economic conditions with a growing number of households living in acute poverty. Many faced serious threats to their livelihoods and had access to limited basic services.

The cyclone severely compounded these vulnerabilities. Affected populations in the rural areas of southern townships of Yangon and the entire affected areas in the Delta have sustained severe damage and destruction to their agricultural livelihoods. Data from the Post-Nargis Joint Needs Assessment (PoNJA)[1]indicates that 42% of villages have identified the loss of livelihoods as their primary early recovery challenge. Over 780,000 ha of paddy fieldswere flooded by the cyclone, and 75 to 80% of seed stocks from the cyclone-affected area were destroyed by flooding or subsequent rain. In addition, the loss of draught animals and power tillers means that an estimated 52,000 farmers will not be able to plant monsoon rice between June and August 2008.

Those without land, particularly the landless poor, have lost basic livelihood capital such as farm tools and implements much needed for seasonal agricultural labour. Individuals engaged in small retail trade, trade-based services and commercial industries have lost their meager assets. Those relying on in-shore transport to make a living have suffered a loss of up to 30% of the public and private fleet. Affected populations in the peri-urban areas of southern Yangon townships have sustained serious damage and destruction to their micro-enterprise activities. Many dependent on small and medium enterprises have also lost their jobs given the number of enterprises destroyed by the cyclone. Preliminary data suggests that approximately 75 – 80% of factories in industrial parks were damaged by the cyclone. 70% of the affected population report that they currently have no access to credit, significantly reducing their capacity to restart livelihoods without some form of external assistance.

More than 500,000 homes wereseverely damaged or destroyed by the cyclone; 99% of which were made of bamboo and wood. Vital community-level infrastructure has been severely damaged or destroyed:72% of villages visited require urgent rehabilitation of schools and educational facilities, 53% of villages identified religious institutions as a priority for repair, and 32% of villages require restoration of health facilities. Householdshave also lostvital assets such as cooking equipment, clothing, and animals. Ponds and wells are flooded by salt water and remain unusable. 60% of the affected population considers that access to clean water is inadequate, and many are shifting from ponds to rain water due to salinisation. Social networks have been broken or severely weakened. 22% of households have reported psychological stress as a result of the cyclone.

The response so far

The first response in many of the cyclone-affected communities was carried out by the community itself: monasteries and churches, local civil society groups and NGOs, etc. Support from the Government of Myanmarand the private sector has also provided essential support. Some basic early recovery assistance from the international community has already been provided. Much more is needed, however, to support households and communities struggling to restore their lives and livelihoods under their own initiative and with only extremely limited and finite resources at their disposal. The capacity of communities to rebound from the effects of the disaster is extremely weak across most of the affected area. Urgent early recovery interventions must be implemented now to move beyond a dependency on direct relief assistance, and to establish a foundation for longer-term recovery.

  1. Projected Recovery Outcome

In order to determine the objective of early recovery, it is important to first consider the overall goal of a longer-term process of transition. Looking ahead, the projected recovery outcome in Myanmar is to establish a stronger foundation for sustainable development. Early recovery represents the first steps towards this goal, undertaken in parallel to direct relief interventions. The sooner work on recovery begins, the sooner the affected areas will be stabilized, and the shorter and more effective the recovery process is likely to be.Early recovery must therefore start now to allow the cyclone-affected population to quickly restore and rebuild their lives and livelihoods, access revitalized essential services, and reduce their vulnerability to future disasters. Early recovery programmes link with, but are distinct from, longer-term recovery and reconstruction in terms of their focus on rapid foundational impact at the household and community level.

  1. Early Recovery Strategy

While it is vital to provide humanitarian relief to those affected by the cyclone, it is also imperative to sustain the lives that are being saved. Early recovery efforts aim to help people to re-establish their lives and build towards a better future.

Activities will be focused primarily at the local community level, with the aim of enabling and reinforcing the capacities of households and communities to recover. Early recovery has to be implemented with and by communities, with local actors in the driving seat in order to generate self-sustaining, locally owned, resilient processes for post-crisis recovery. With this in mind, and as far as possible taking into account the many barriers that currently exist in Myanmar, early recovery efforts will be designed and implemented in a transparent manner, through effective information sharing, inclusive local level consultations and dispute resolutions to ensure full accountability to beneficiariesand donors. Projects and programmes will seek to address the vulnerabilities of cyclone-affected communities, ensuring that risks are not rebuilt into the recovery effort and the capacities of communitiesare strengthened to reduce further risk.

The delivery and coordination capacity of assistance providers and implementing agencies is key to the success of this strategy. Agencies must be able to demonstrate their presence in the affected areas, and their capacity to deliver against agreed objectives. Delivery capacity will continue to be heavily dependent on access to the affected areas and communities.

All early recovery efforts will be solely based upon identified needs and priorities with no restriction or exclusion on the basis of sex, ethnicity, religion, displacement, age, or any other status.

Early recovery activities should be closely coordinated within and between agencies and clusters, to maximize their effectiveness, avoid gaps, minimize overlap, and reduce any burden that agency presence may place on communities. Ideally, early recovery initiatives should work to foster cooperation among local authorities and civil society groups, in order to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of local programmes and to increase local participation in the recovery effort. A pragmatic approach must be adopted,however,depending on the operational context.

  1. Early Recovery Outputs and Indicators

As a multi-dimensional process (as opposed to a sector), early recovery needs to be organized differently from other sector-based groupings. As a common concern it cannot be limited to the work of one cluster. The Early Recovery Cluster focuses on the areas of early recovery not covered by other clusters (the Early Recovery Network), and considered a priority for the collective success of the early recovery effort. In Myanmar, those key areas are as follows:

5.1 Non-agricultural livelihoods

45 to 55% of rural households are engaged in the agriculture sector; with 90% of those in farming and the remaining 10% in fishing and livestock rearing/raising. Most rural households have homestead gardens, and a substantial number of households are also engaged in trading of agricultural produce. More than 80% of rural households have lost livelihood assets. Restoring their lives will require urgent support through provision of agricultural inputs, farm tools and implements, poultry stock with feed and vaccination, and small fishing boats and nets. These assistance requirements, within the underlying strategy for agricultural revival, are spelt out by the Agriculture Cluster.

Households engaged in non-agricultural activities and other off-farm activities - as well as those landless poor relying on wage labour on agricultural lands - require early access to cash income-generating opportunities. Immediate support needs to be provided for integratedlivelihood projects to enhance the capacity of cyclone-affected communities to improve their economic status and stimulate local market and economies. Livelihoods support during the early recovery effort will focus on providing quick access to public work schemesand training. Special attention will be paid to vulnerable categories of the cyclone-affected population, such as single-headed households (either widows, widowers or those with absent men who arelikely seeking work), those living with HIV, and the disabled.

Proposed interventions: eg.

  • Implementation of emergency public work schemes (eg. debris clearance, rehabilitation of community infrastructure);
  • Provision of capital funds to self-reliance and livelihood groupsto meet the urgent need for cash of members who have lost savings.
  • Delivery of community-based training programmes to help develop skills and create employmentopportunities for the most socially and economically disadvantaged groups, in particular ruralwomen, those living with HIVand people with disabilities;
  • Revival and recapitalization of micro-finance schemesand self-reliance groupsto support small-scale business opportunities;
  • Support for new investment opportunities, by diversifying income, possibly through public-private partnerships (subject to feasibility assessments); or
  • Rapid assessment of markets at township level to determine areas of support.

Proposed indicators: eg.

  • Livelihoods of x number of households in x number of villages restored and strengthened;
  • X number of business management trainings conducted; or
  • Cash for work activities implemented in x number of villages providing x person days of labour.

5.2 Social recovery

Capacity building, targeting social recovery at the community level, is key to the achievement of recovery in this area. Social recovery will be promoted through working to revitalize and empower local communities by encouraging and supporting civil society organizations - including national NGOs, community-based organizations, women’s groups and other self-help groups - and strengthening the links between these groups and local authorities. Recognizing that in many cases, existing community-based organizations have led the recovery effort so far, a concerted effort will be made to support these existing structures, and/or create a conducive environment for new community-based organizations to emerge as needed.

Community involvement in the restoration effort, through the repair or reconstruction of homes, schools, and other social structures, may help people to return to a sense of normalcy; as well as ensuring that the restored infrastructure meets their actual needs. Psycho-social support will be provided to help communities, particularly the most vulnerable groups, to recover from the loss of family members and the breakdown of social networks.

Proposed interventions: eg.

  • Assess the capacity and representativeness of existing community-based organizations and provide support for them as required;
  • Where those organizations don’t exist, or are inappropriate for external support, mobilize communities to develop their own self-help groups;
  • Strengthen womens’ networks to encourage and facilitate their involvement in decision-making processes related to post-cyclone recovery, including project managementguidance, sector-specific technical training, and advice and support on developing accountable structures;
  • Organize village-level disaster recovery committees;
  • Provide advice and support to households who will not be able to return to their places of origin, as well as to agencies working with those populations in target areas;
  • Provide psycho-social support, within existing or new community-based organizations, for those distressed by the cyclone and its after-effects;
  • Establish community feed-back mechanisms that allow communities to voice their concerns, and link them with those organizations responsible for responding to complaints.

Proposed indicators: eg.

  • Information and data available to x number of communities on forthcoming and ongoing early recovery interventions;
  • Training of x number of civil society groups in preparedness and early warning; or
  • Percentage or number of community-based organizations integrated into township or village-based recovery plans.

5.3 Community infrastructure

Community infrastructure will be repaired in order to increase access for community mobility, facilitate the movement of goods and people to markets, and to allow for improved access for humanitarian and recovery partners to deliver assistance. Cash for work activities will provide immediate labour for urgent repairs and facilitate rapid income generation.Using small-scale contractors to work on minor roads and associated structures (bridges, culverts,drainage-channels, small link roads, and dirt tracks) is intended to generate a multiplier effect for the local community - linking employment-intensive techniqueswith local resources.

Proposed interventions: eg.

  • Clearance of debris;
  • Rapid assessment of damage to community buildings and spaces;
  • Repair of minor village infrastructure such as jetties and footpaths; or
  • Repair of link roads through local contractors to restore inter-village access.

Proposed indicators: eg.

  • Community buildings restored and strengthened in x number of villages;
  • Volunteers in x number of villages trained in maintaining village water supply systems; or
  • Establish or re-establish safer social infrastructures, such as community resource centres, in x number of villages.

5.4 Environment

Environmental resources directly underpin the livelihoods of poor people in Myanmar. Pre-existing environmental damage has been exacerbated by the cyclone, while other challenges have appeared as a result of the disaster. A unified effort is needed to improve assist the environment to recover so as to become a sustainable basis for community livelihoods.

A comprehensive post-cyclone environmental assessment would be a valuable first step in determining the extent of environmental damage caused by the cyclone. Of particular interest is the damage to mangrove vegetation, salinity intrusion into freshwater resources, changes in delta hydrology caused by the flooding, and impact on soil quality due to salt water intrusion. It is also anticipated that community recovery efforts will have their own ecological impact on the region and beyond. For example, timber needed for reconstruction may come from the mangrove vegetation and/or from forestry inland, and may be harvested in anunsustainable manner. Immediate support is required to help communities and agencies minimize the environmental footprint of their early recovery actions.

Proposed interventions: eg.

  • Assist local communities in sustainable early recovery to minimize ecological damage;
  • Create an ‘environmental help-desk’ for agencies implementing large-scale projects in the Delta which may have un-intended environmental consequences;
  • Scientific assessment of the eco-system services provided by the mangroves, including disaster risk reduction, to provide an evidence base for future advocacy efforts; or
  • Comprehensive post-disaster environmental assessment of cyclone Nargis.

Proposed indicators

  • Number of communities trained in sustainable early recovery interventions;
  • Number of early recovery projects screened for their environmental impacts;or
  • Number of communities provided with on the spot advice on disaster waste management.

5.5 Disaster risk reduction (DRR)

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures need to be incorporated into the work of all clusters/sectors. Specific DRR measures within the context of this strategy are also needed to strengthen the capacity of communities to withstand and deal with the after-effects of future natural disasters. A first step will involve identifying and targeting community groups and civil society organizations in at-risk communities in order to initiate community-level capacity-building activities. Measures will also be introduced to incorporate disaster risk reduction in early recovery efforts, promoting the notion of ‘build back better’ for the housing sector, settlement planning, infrastructure, health and education facilities, water and sanitation, and livelihoods.