♠conclusion♠

Conclusion

Drawing on experiences in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, this paper focused on two aspects of the large relief and reconstruction program that followed the Asian tsunami in December 2004, a result of which, almost 230,000 people died.

First, various aspects of the effectiveness and financing of aid delivery activities following the tsunami are considered. The discussion attempts to go beyond the “headline” figures on international aid to assess the level, composition, and quality of aid flows. Second, the challenges of designing significant reconstruction programs in the wake of the tsunami were discussed with reference to the well-known literature about the impact of Dutch Disease effects in booming economies. Paradoxically, post-tsunami construction programs were dogged by both slow levels of spending and by funding gaps that emerged as a consequence of construction cost escalation. In light of this experience, the need to plan for significant construction cost increases in major building programs following natural disasters was emphasized. Careful decisions about the pace and the appropriate sequencing of construction activities are needed to ensure the best use of available funds.

More generally, post-disaster relief and rehabilitation programs involve the participation of (and contributions from) public agencies, private sector agencies, and households. There are many important issues—such as the appropriate modes of relief assistance to be used for rebuilding private houses and buildings, and whether government or aid agencies should build and transfer houses or should, instead, provide affected households with direct financial assistance for reconstruction—that are not discussed here. However, the posttsunami experience provides important insights on how these matters might be approached following large-scale disasters in the Asian region.