Building Resilience Through Disaster Recovery Aceh 10 Years On from the Tsunami

The case study examines the impact of the Panglima Laot customary institution on the recovery of fishing communities in Aceh after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. It finds that recovery interventions by NGOs and donors were more successful when they partnered with the Panglima Laot to assess needs and implement projects. However, the study also notes a disconnect between the official 'build back better' goal and the priorities of local fishing communities, who preferred returning to pre-tsunami conditions over long-term resilience efforts.

• Recovery interventions by NGOs and donors were perceived as more successful when they engaged the Panglima Laot as a partner to implement projects and assess the actual needs of fishing communities.
• The Panglima Laot acted as an active partner to the BRR (Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency), providing leadership and mediation skills that helped create cohesion among the various activities supporting the recovery of fisheries livelihoods.
• There was a misalignment between the 'building back better' objective promoted by international actors and the Indonesian government and the priorities of local fishing communities, who sought a rapid return to pre-tsunami conditions.
• The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Aceh caused approximately 200,000 deaths and nearly US$5 billion in economic losses and damages.

APA

Boyland, M., Nugroho, A., & Thomalla, F. (2015). Building Resilience Through Disaster Recovery Aceh 10 Years On from the Tsunami. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Initiatives/SEI-2016-UNISDR-LT-recovery-poster.pdf

Chicago

Boyland, Michael, Agus Nugroho, and Frank Thomalla. Building Resilience Through Disaster Recovery Aceh 10 Years On from the Tsunami. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Initiatives/SEI-2016-UNISDR-LT-recovery-poster.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Boyland |first1=Michael |last2=Nugroho |first2=Agus |last3=Thomalla |first3=Frank |title=Building Resilience Through Disaster Recovery Aceh 10 Years On from the Tsunami |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Initiatives/SEI-2016-UNISDR-LT-recovery-poster.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{boyland2015building, author = {Boyland, Michael and Nugroho, Agus and Thomalla, Frank}, title = {{Building Resilience Through Disaster Recovery Aceh 10 Years On from the Tsunami}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Initiatives/SEI-2016-UNISDR-LT-recovery-poster.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }