US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO301

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
MANILA FOR USED ADB 
DEPT PASS U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, ECON, PREL, MV, Tsunami 
SUBJECT:  TSUNAMI RECONSTRUCTION:  REMEMBER MALDIVES 
 
REFS:  (A) COLOMBO 38  (B) OFDA MALDIVES SITREPS 
 
1.  (U) Summary.  The Maldivian government, aided 
by international agencies, has done an impressive 
job of identifying long-term tsunami reconstruction 
needs.  The U.S. should do its part in funding this 
Maldivian effort.  The upcoming visit to Maldives 
by former U.S. Presidents Bush and Clinton will 
serve to draw attention to this noteworthy 
Maldivian effort and hopefully remind the world 
community not to forget Maldives in the larger post- 
tsunami picture.  End Summary. 
 
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2. (U) During a February 2-3 visit to Maldives, DCM 
met separately with GoRM officials (Aminath Didi, 
Assistant Director General, Department of External 
Resources, Riluwan Shareef, Excutive Director, Aid 
Coordination, Ministry of Finance and Ali Naseer 
Mohamed, Assistant Director, Department of External 
Resources) and with UNDP officials (newly-arrived 
Deputy ResRep Kari Blindheim and longtime Mission 
contact Abdul Bari Abdulla, Program Coordinator) 
involved in tsunami reconstruction planning.  It is 
clear that reconstruction planning and coordination 
are well-advanced and that the government and 
supporting international agencies have a clear idea 
of what needs to be done and how to do it.  A joint 
World Bank-Asian Development Bank-UN System 
assessment entitled "The Impact of the Tsunami and 
the Way Forward" should be in final shortly.  It is 
important that the U.S. play a constructive role in 
moving these plans to fruition since the primary 
need in Maldives is not planning assistance or 
technical assistance (the Maldivians can largely 
handle both) but money. 
 
3. (U) The Maldivian officials all expressed 
tremendous appreciation for the rapid U.S. 
assistance in the immediate relief phase, the 
supplies and food provided via OFDA's USD 1.2 
million grant to UNICEF for health, water and 
sanitation activities, and the work of the U.S. 
military Combined Support Group (CSG) in the hard- 
hit Laamu atoll.  Among other activities, the CSG 
provided an approximately one-month supply of 
drinking water to the residents of seven targeted 
islands in this atoll.  In a meeting with the DCM, 
Deputy Foreign Minister Shihab noted that he had 
gone aboard one of the U.S. Navy ships and had been 
impressed by the dedication and professionalism of 
the U.S. military personnel. "How can we ever thank 
the U.S.?" Shihab asked. 
 
4. (U) Didi and Shareef reviewed with DCM the 
comprehensive GoRM reconstruction plan which it 
will fund through a trust fund set up by the 
government.  The plan shares with the UNDP analysis 
a focus on the need for shelter as an immediate 
priority.  UNDP already has put together a draft 
project on "Emergency shelter response and recovery 
for the Tsunami-affected people of Maldives;" the 
Government has drawn up a standard blueprint for 
low-cost but durable housing units that have 
already started to be put up on affected islands. 
The government plan also focuses on an Island 
Livelihood Development Program (ILDP) that will get 
affected populations back on their feet through 
activities such as fixing and replacing fishing 
boats as needed.  It also incorporates longstanding 
GoRM plans to improve conditions in outlying 
atolls; in other words rebuild things better than 
they were before the tsunami. 
 
5. (U) The reconstruction needs are indeed 
significant.  Harbors and jetties were destroyed on 
a third of the 199 inhabited islands in Maldives. 
Health clinics, hospitals and schools were damaged 
on more than fifty inhabited islands.  Thirteen 
inhabited islands had to be abandoned after the 
tsunami with their populations relocated onto more 
 
SIPDIS 
heavily-populated islands (indeed, the government 
has for years encouraged migration towards 
population centers).  The reconstruction task is 
made more challenging in Maldives by the distances 
and logistics involved in getting reconstruction 
materials out from Male' to far-flung atolls and 
then getting supplies and equipment ashore on coral 
reef atolls where the jetties have been damaged or 
destroyed.  Indeed, a high priority for the GoRM at 
present is finding "landing craft-like" ships that 
can deliver large loads right up onto the beach in 
affected atolls where jetties were destroyed. 
 
6. (U) As part of the reconstruction process, the 
GoRM has accelerated plans for the long-standing 
population consolidation strategy built around the 
concept of the "safe island" which would include 
artificially elevated areas to help residents get 
away from rising waters in the future  In the area 
of geology, the GoRM and the UNDP are already 
working with the U.S. Geological Survey on a survey 
of tsunami-affected islands to determine which 
islands suffered too much damage to their 
"structural integrity" to serve as population 
centers.  DCM heard anecdotal accounts of islands 
that were still shifting and settling, resulting in 
building collapses days after the tsunami waters 
receded.  In addition, the USG'S work will also 
focus on development of safe island criteria with 
respect to geology, for use in the future.  Other 
important areas for which safe islands criteria 
must be established include water/sanitation and 
solid waste disposal. 
 
7. (U) The GoRM is also struggling with the revenue 
implications of the post-tsunami decline in 
tourism.  While most resorts were able to reopen 
shortly after the waves receded (the government 
estimates nineteen resorts will need to stay closed 
for repairs), the occupancy rate has fallen below 
thirty percent during what is usually the 
traditional Maldivian tourist "high season" when 
resorts are typically fully booked.  The government 
has mounted a campaign to tell tourists that 
Maldives is "back in business," but realizes that 
it will take time to rebuild the industry.  Despite 
the revenue shortfall, however, DFM Shihab told DCM 
that the GoRM will do everything in its power to 
avoid taking advantage of whatever debt relief or 
restructuring is offered by its G-7 creditors.  "We 
are proud of our record on debt repayment and don't 
want to do anything to diminish it.  We would only 
seek help on debt as a last resort." 
 
8. (U)  Comment.  As former Presidents Bush and 
Clinton will see, the Maldivian response in the 
face of tsunami destruction is most impressive. 
The U.S. should encourage that strong response by 
making a significant contribution on the funding 
side.  Perhaps the most important way to help in 
the short term is through the ongoing USG's effort 
to help the GoRM figure out which affected islands 
remain geologically safe and viable.  End Comment 
 
LUNSTEAD