Database Established of Public Buildings Reconstructed Following the Tsunami in Indonesia

Five years have passed since the catastrophic tsunami destroyed broad areas of the coastal region of the Indonesian province of Aceh. An estimated 170,000 people lost their lives in Indonesia alone. GTZ was one of the first organisations to be on site and, on behalf of BMZ and other donors, pitched in energetically to foster reconstruction efforts. These are now at an end: the survivors of the disaster have a roof over their heads once more. Thanks to the numerous aid efforts, which were coordinated by the Indonesian agency for reconstruction BRR, many public facilities are now available for use once more: hospitals, schools and government buildings.

'With the sweeping reconstruction, the authorities had to some extent lost sight of which buildings had been reconstructed, just exactly where they were, and in what condition,' explains IS staff member Gerrit Plum, who is responsible for the Asset Mapping Assistance project in Aceh. On behalf of the Australian development organisation AusAID, GTZ IS supported the compilation of a GIS database listing all reconstructed public buildings and infrastructure, including streets, hospitals, schools, harbour facilities and dams that protect fields and villages. The cadastre database includes up-to-date high-resolution satellite photos and also contains information about the exact position of each property with GPS coordinates, the size of the lot or building, and to what use each is currently being put. 'It was no easy task to compile this data,' says Mr Plum. In November last year, it involved coordinating more than 400 staff, who inside of four weeks had to penetrate the most remote corners of Aceh and Nias to gather information, and that during Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, and the onset of the rainy season.

The data are now complete. 'With these 17,000 entries, the provincial and district governments in Aceh finally have a solid basis for budget planning,' Mr Plum points out. However, to be able to adopt individual budgets for maintenance and operating costs of public facilities, the authorities need employees with a thorough knowledge of administration and bookkeeping. 'After nearly thirty years of civil war, in which hardly anyone was trained or educated, professionals with such specialised qualifications are a rarity in Aceh,' Plum knows. So project staff are now training local government employees in Indonesian administrative law and data processing for government offices. 'Reconstruction was the basic precondition. What we want to accomplish now is above all to work toward seeing that the Aceh authorities can carry out their tasks without outside help,' says Mr Plum.