6 June, Yangon, Myanmar — The British Government has pledged two million dollars boosting the United Nations Development Programme’s efforts to assist the people in the cyclone-ravaged Ayeyarwady delta region through a community-based early recovery project aimed at addressing urgent livelihood needs.

The fund from the U.K. Department for International Development enhances the cash-for-work scheme, supporting the immediate re-establishment of farming and non-farming livelihoods, including livestock, fisheries and homestead gardens. These efforts dovetail with those of the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN’s authority on land cultivation and food security. UNDP will strengthen community systems and help rebuild villages; FAO will provide agricultural inputs such as technical advice, rice seeds, fertilizers, draught animals and fishing gear to rebuild the agricultural sector over the short and medium term.

“The key recovery challenge is re-establishing livelihoods,” said Kathleen Cravero, director of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery. “In many of these communities, the boats are gone, the houses are gone and the land is gone. So we need to get started on working with the families and communities to re-establish a way for them to live again.”

UNDP is actively engaging communities for project proposals and implementation through village committees and women’s self-reliance groups. It has worked closely with the local population and authorities for more than 14 years in the delta region, where it continues to maintain 40 field offices and some 500 national staff and project personnel. UNDP designs, manages and monitors early recovery initiatives directly with villagers, encouraging them to prioritise their needs and nominate representatives. In many cases, these community structures were already in place before the cyclone, and it is in the backdrop of that community mobilisation and self-supporting system that the cash-for-work project kicks off.

Essential initial activities have already begun, as villagers clear ponds of debris to provide fresh water to irrigate their paddy fields. The immediate initiative lays the groundwork for more collaborative and long-term recovery efforts by the aid community. Most importantly, it supports the people who are making the effort to rebuild their lives. It is also reflective of UNDP’s continued commitment to help the people of Myanmar through grass-roots activities, as dictated by its mandate, and complements its existing community development projects and microfinance activities.

This latest initiative is but one part of UNDP’s efforts to immediately respond to early recovery priorities, as the humanitarian relief operations continue, and paves the way for more comprehensive early recovery plans.