Support for Sri Lanka and Thailand post-tsunami
return to | Asia tsunami | Five years on
While much of New Zealand 's ongoing recovery effort has been focused on Aceh in Indonesia , the tsunami also had a devastating impact on Sri Lanka , where more than 30,000 people died and tens of thousands lost their homes.
In Sri Lanka the tsunami caused significant environmental damage to marine and coastal ecosystems, land and freshwater resources and caused various environmental changes. This damage had an adverse impact on the livelihoods of coastal communities and on the integrity and robustness of the local ecosystems.
New Zealand 's assistance in Sri Lanka included a $500,000 contribution to the United Nations Development Programme's environment-related recovery programmes. UNDP activities in Sri Lanka post tsunami included policy and technical support for reconstruction planning, establishing early warning systems and the provision of funds for the rehabilitation of degraded natural resources such as mangroves and other coastal forests.
New Zealand also contributed $0.33 million to New Zealand Cricket's tsunami fundraising efforts for Sri Lanka , and many of the NGO's working in Sri Lanka benefited from the $19 million allocated to match funds raised through accredited organisations.
The New Zealand Police, with support from NZAID, were a major component of the New Zealand response in Thailand .
New Zealand Police personnel played a major role in post-tsunami forensics, helping to identify victims of the disaster in the worst hit areas of Thailand .
The New Zealand Government also provided authorities in Thailand with a New Zealand-developed victim identification software package to help identify victims of the Boxing Day tsunami.return to | Asia tsunami | Five years on