Wetlands International (WI)

Marie-Jose Vervest is senior staff of Wetlands International and manager of Green Coast, a tsunami response initiative to restore livelihoods of affected people through the restoration of coastal ecosystems.
Green Coast works through a partnership between Wetlands International (which is leading and managing), WWF, IUCN and Both ENDS and is financed with 4,3 million euro from Dutch humanitarian relief money through Oxfam/NOVIB for a period of 2,5 years. 

More info on: www.greencoasts.org

Green Coast works through its national and local offices in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia and it networks among local NGOs and CBOs. After 2 years, Green Coast has implemented 175 community-led ecosystem restoration projects such as planting mangroves and coastal forest, protection of coral reef and seagrass beds, restoration of sand dunes and eradication of invasive species after the tsunami. Communities receive a grant or small financial capital which they use to start a livelihood activity such as an eco-enterprise, eco-tourism, fish farming or keeping livestock. 
Green Coast works on the basis of scientific ecological and socio-economic assessments done on the tsunami damage and options and locations for recovery. Next to community restoration projects it also influences governments and other policy makers towards a sound and integrated coastal zone planning and management.

After 2 years of implementation, Green Coast has re-established total 900 hectares of coastal belt and mangroves, more than 100 hectares of protected coral reef and seagrass beds and 2 km.of sand dunes along the Indian and Sri Lankan coast. Approximately 91,000 people benefit from improved ecosystem conditions and another 12.650 people from improved livelihoods such as increased income and diversified livelihoods. 

Green Coast Phase 1 has been implemented between June 2005 - December 2007.
Green Coast Phase 2 has been funded through another 1 million euro from DEC/UK through Oxfam/NOVIB and is being implemented from Aporil 2007 - December 2008 in Aceh and Nias in Indonesia. This second phase focusses on 16 medium scale community-based coastal zone management projects some of which function as demonstration site. A network among coastal NGOs & CBOs is being created to get local communities' input into policy dialogues by Green Coast partners with local/national govenrment and main policy makers for Aceh & Nias coastal zones.