Conference Report

Institute For Sustainable Development and Research (ISDR), India
ISDR-AVC-CGSI Workshop on Tsunami Rehabilitation, Mayiladuthurai, India, 8-10 April 2005

The Institute for Sustainable Development and Research, ISDR, India, in association with A.V.C. College of Engineering (AVCCE), Mayiladuthurai and IAPSO Commission on Groundwater-Seawater Interactions, CGSI, organised a 3-day workshop from 8th to 10th April 2005 on the problem identification in tsunami rehabilitation, to investigate problems related to groundwater-seawater interactions in the coastal zone resulting from the December tsunami, to aid mitigation planning in affected areas and to educate scientists and local populations to form a basis for sustainable solutions. A field visit to the tsunami affected region was organised on 10 April 2005.

On 26 December 2004 massive waves triggered by an earthquake surged into coastal communities in Asia and East Africa with devastating force. Hitting Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India hardest, the deadly waves swept more than 200 000 people to their deaths. The economic loss to agriculture, irrigation, aquaculture, drinking water resources, coastal industries, housing and infrastructure is very high. The ecosystem, economic system , agriculture and aquaculture system in this region are severely affected and need systematic rehabilitation. For rehabilitation, scientific knowledge is needed, requiring experienced research communities who can train the local population for tsunami rehabilitation. The workshop was organized with aims to start the rehabilitation programmes for the tsunami-affected population.

The workshop was held at AVC College of Engineering, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu with more than 50 participating scientists along with 100 local affected persons. The collector of Nagapattinam District, Dr .J. Radhakrishnan, inaugurated the workshop. At the opening plenary Mr. S. Karthikeyan, Chairman of AVC, Mr.C.Senthilvel, Secretary of AVC, treasurer Mr. S. Sugumar of AVC, Dr.Anand G.Bhole, President of ISDR, Dr.Lalit P.Chaudhari,Vice President of ISDR, Dr.Arun Parwate, Principal, AVC College of Engineering, Dr.Radhakrishnan, Principal of AVC,Dr.M.C.Sathynarayana, AVC, scientists from the National Institute of Technology, CREED, Indian Institute of Technology, SRMIT, PROGRESS, PSDF and several representatives from technical and social institutions presented case studies on disaster management and rehabilitation issues and future action plans for an early rehabilitation. Ms.Annette Kimmich of IAPSO-CGSI provided the logistics required for the workshop. During two days of discussions, the participants stressed that regional planning is necessary to mitigate the impacts of the tsunami and other natural disasters. Housing / shelter provision is the major task required for an early rehabilitation of the affected population. Task forces are formed on different aspects for rehabilitation of the tsunami victims.

The ISDR - AVC - CGSI Resource Center on Tsunami at AVC College of Engineering, Mayiladuthurai was inaugurated by the Collector, Nagapattinam District .This resource center will be beneficial to the local affected population to understand the tsunami phenomenon, its impact on housing and other infrastructure, ecology, environment and economy of the coastal region. The Tsunami Center will be helpful to find economical rehabilitation solutions for housing, ecological and economic aspects for the local people. The AVC College of Engineering extended the co-operation to provide all necessary help for the success of this center for scientists and researchers in this region and other parts of the country as well as to some extent other related organisations and individuals in different parts of the globe.

The ISDR –AVC-CGSI workshop on Tsunami Rehabilitation provided an excellent opportunity for networking for future planning for disaster management and efforts required for an early provision of housing shelter for the tsunami affected people. Also the workshop provided a platform for discussion and sharing ideas for sustainable housing technologies for disaster prone regions. Information concerning the workshop, abstracts, full papers (on submission) and photographic presentations are available at the following web address – http://isdronline.com/tsunamiprogramme/firstworkshop.asp

For more information on the workshop please contact –

Dr.Anand.G.Bhole, President, ISDR, 229, Bahar, Hill Road, Shivaji Nagar, Nagpur, 440010, India, email – agbhole@yahoo.co.in or Dr.Lalit P.Chaudhari, Vice President, ISDR email- clkp123@yahoo.com

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