Case study on post - Tsunami issues and opportunities for development in eastern coastal region

Abstract

The natural and human disasters affected physical, social and economic development of our country during ethnic conflict which started in 1980s leads to a 30 years of war, destructed the infrastructure of North & Eastern region. A natural disaster (tsunami) in 1994 brought this human disaster (war) in a turning situation. Accelerated developments through foreign funds, invasion of INGOs, post-tsunami reconstructions, etc. are leading to a positive development in the North and Eastern part of the country. Due to the influence and interaction of the NGOs activities towards the ethnic conflict bring the government to put an end to the conflict in 2009. This case study has been done to examine the issues and opportunities for development after tsunami and war in Eastern Coastal Region through primary data collection such as questionnaire survey, field visits by environmental officers, and interviews of affected people and stakeholders and from secondary data sources. Unplanned and uncoordinated "Coastal Ribbon Development** under emergency situation, degraded coastal forest eco-system, destructed biodiversity, pressure on marine resources, pollution, tourism, poverty and government legislations are the prime issues identified from this case study for future development. Development of eco-tourism, rich cultural, historic and archaeological resources, productive agricultural land, tourism development, rich biodiversity and promoting community-based activities are die opportunities identified from this case study. The study revealed that the issues and opportunities are location specific and the development activities should be carried out with the concern of the development committees assigned at each Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the eastern coastal region.