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MANILA, PHILIPPINES (9 September 2005) - ADB has approved three grants totaling US$6 million from its Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) to help improve livelihoods, rehabilitate natural resources, and provide earthquake-resistant housing in tsunami-affected areas of Indonesia. The JFPR is financed by the Government of Japan.

A $2.5 million grant will help develop sustainable livelihoods in the Aceh Besar and Aceh Utara districts in the Special Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam by providing technical, financial, and production assistance to small-scale fishers, farmers, and other members of fishing communities, especially women.

"The tsunami brought massive destruction to the otherwise vibrant fisheries sector in the area," says Zhou Weidong, ADB Senior Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Specialist. Outputs of Aceh's fishing industry are estimated to decrease by 60%.

Small-scale fishers and fish farmers in 20 coastal villages will receive technical assistance and financial support to help them restart their livelihoods. Support for rehabilitating and repairing fishing boats and equipment, fish ponds, and postharvest facilities will also be provided.

The grant will also organize and mobilize community groups, including women's groups, to allow them to actively participate in livelihood restoration activities.

Another $1.5 million grant will help raise incomes of poor coastal communities in the same project area by rehabilitating and sustainably managing 30 hectares of coral reefs and 300 hectares of mangrove resources damaged by the tsunami.

Almost 80% of all mangrove habitat were destroyed in the area, along with 250 hectares of coral reefs. "Coral reefs and mangroves form the key ecosystem on which the costal communities rely for food, income, construction materials, and coastal protection," says Bobur Alimov, an ADB Economist.

Alternative livelihood activities to support coastal resource management will also be developed in 20 coastal villages.

Last, a $2 million grant will develop prototypes of affordable and earthquake-resistant housing, and then build 300 units of 36 square-meter demonstration houses and building information centres in 16 tsunami-affected districts of Aceh and North Sumatra.

The project will also tap 10 financial institutions through which promotional housing grants will be channeled. These financial institutions will also provide a credit line for housing loans whose eligibility is linked to the utilization of earthquake-resistant technology and design.

"The project will help meet the estimated 115,000 new housing units needed in Indonesia after the tsunami destroyed about $1.4 billion worth of housing structures and residential infrastructure," says Florian Steinberg, an ADB Housing and Urban Development Specialist.

The tsunami left Indonesia with at least 126,000 people dead, over 94,000 missing, and more than 400,000 internally displaced. About 600,000 lost their property and economic assets, and approximately 1 million people in the coastal areas became poorer or worse off as a result of the disaster.

All three JFPR grants will be carried out over two years and will be implemented in association with ADB's Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project, which will help restore essential public services, rebuild infrastructure, and revive economic activity through livelihood support through a $290 million grant from ADB's Asian Tsunami Fund.

The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of Y10 billion (about $90 million). The Fund now stands at over $344 million. In January, the Government of Japan announced the provision of $20 million through the JFPR at ADB to support relief measures in areas devastated by the December earthquake and tsunami.

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