International Recovery Platform

This report is the product of close cooperation between UNEP and national environmental authorities and experts. It provides a preliminary ground-level look at the tsunami’s impact on various sectors of the region’s environment. It highlights problems in need of immediate attention, underscoring the strong link between environment and sustainable livelihood and the need for improved early warning and disaster preparedness systems.

This report has been prepared in response to General Assembly Resolution 60/15 of 2 February 2006 on “Strengthening emergency relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and prevention in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster”. The report provides a status update of the recovery process at the 18-month mark and seeks to identify some of the key emerging challenges and lessons learned in efforts to build back better. It examines successes and challenges in tsunami response, focusing on long-term recovery.

Disasters by Design offers a way to view, study, and manage hazards in the United States that will help foster disaster-resilient communities, higher environmental quality, inter- and intragenerational equity, economic sustainability, and an improved