Five years since the Boxing Day tsunami devastated the coastlines of India and Sri Lanka, killing thousands and destroying countless homes and livelihoods, many communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives. This is despite massive aid flows to the region, including over £400 million raised through donations in the UK alone, says Tourism Concern

 

 “All too often, tourism is a major factor preventing these communities from flourishing,” says Tricia Barnett, Director of Tourism Concern. “Tourism developments are threatening coastal peoples’ livelihoods and alienating them from their land, grossly undermining the millions of pounds donated in tsunami aid. The governments of these countries and the international travel industry need to be challenged to ensure that human rights are not flouted in the name of tourism”.

 

The organization continues: “The Indian and Sri Lankan governments used the mass displacement of coastal people from their land by the tsunami as an opportunity to sell off prime beaches for tourism. In many places, newly established ‘buffer zones’ prevented residents from returning to rebuild homes and businesses – ostensibly to protect them from another tsunami. Many communities have been re-housed in isolated villages several kilometres inland. Much of the new housing is cramped and poorly built.”

 

 “Relocation inland can mean alienation from their traditional ways of life, the breakdown of family and social networks, and increased costs as fishermen and women are forced to travel further to reach coasts and markets”, states Barnett. “Meanwhile, the coastal planning regulations are regularly flouted by large tourism developers.”

 

 “Other communities are still waiting for their tsunami-damaged homes to be rebuilt. In Sri Lanka, development agencies estimate that almost 7,000 tsunami victims are still awaiting permanent housing in the eastern region of Batticoaloa, a situation now confounded by the thousands of internally displaced people that fled the north of the country to escape the recently ended civil war. “ 

 

“Communities that have remained on the coast are under increasing pressure to sell their land to developers. Plagued by debt, declining fish catches and rising food prices, many families are falling prey to the hard-sell tactics of real estate agents. They are often unaware that ensuing tourism developments will cut them off from their livelihood source, as beaches are privatised and access to the sea is blocked.”

 

“The 2004 tsunami was one of the worst natural disasters in living memory. Unregulated tourism development in tsunami-hit areas is a disaster waiting to happen. The difference is that it can be stopped by governments and the tourism industry putting human rights first. This means implementing policies that protect local livelihoods and the natural environment and promoting sustainable, equitable development”, says Barnett.

 

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Tsunami Appeal raised over £395.2 million, 31% of which was allocated to Sri Lanka and 17% of which went to India. Millions more were raised directly by the 13 DEC member agencies.

 

Tourism Concern will host a photographic exhibition portraying the challenges facing tsunami-affected communities at The Guardian Gallery, London, from 22nd – 3rd/10th February 2010.

For more information: www.tourismconcern.org.uk

 

Valere Tjolle