Tsunami Spurs Interest in Asian Coasts

A Thai fisherman makes his way for a catch past Cheme village in Pang-nga province, southern Thailand Friday, Sept. 1, 2006. Dubbed Mangroves For the Future program launch by the World Conservation Union or IUCN and the United Nations Development Program, the mangrove plants are to be grown to preserve the Thai coastal areas which were badly hit by the December 2004 tsunami that killed 216,000 people in Asia and Africa and leveled dozens of fishing communities. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong) (Apichart Weerawong - AP)

Since then, conservation groups have stepped in to provide the expertise and launched a number of programs in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Among them is the Green Coast project run by Wetlands International, the World Conservation Union and others. Since last year, it has spent nearly $2 million from Dutch charities on more than 100 projects in tsunami-hit countries to assess the impact of the disaster, change government land use policy and rebuild damaged coastal regions.

The projects range from a mangrove nursery in India, coral reef cleaning in Indonesia and an educational campaign in Sri Lanka to increase awareness of mangroves among tsunami survivors.

"When you see a portion of your village destroyed, it really brings about how much you have to conserve them," Arensberg said of the mangroves. "It's not just rebuilding houses but looking at the natural environment and finding a way it can come back for them."

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On the Net:

The World Conservation Union: http://www.iucn.org/

United Nations Development Program: http://www.undp.org/

Wetlands International: http://www.wetlands.org/