Stevie Emilia, The Jakarta Post, Pidie Jaya
With her bare hands, Rosni Isna picks up wood debris scattered along the beach, giving young coastal plants more room to grow.
""It's sad that the waves swept away the young trees,"" said the 56-year-old resident of Lancung Paru village in Bandar Baru district, Pidie Jaya regency, Aceh.
""The waves swept away some 60 percent of the plants,"" she sighed. ""But the mangroves were not affected.""
The Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami and the massive waves that pounded the area last month have left scars on Aceh's western and eastern coasts.
Piles of debris carried by the waves are scattered across beaches. Much of the coastal vegetation planted as part of post-tsunami efforts to rehabilitate the province's coasts were swept away by last month's massive waves.
As a result, Lancung Paru villagers are replanting coastal vegetation all over again in affected areas.
Eight villages in three regencies -- Pidie Jaya, Aceh Jaya and Aceh Besar -- are taking part in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s Forestry Program for Early Rehabilitation in Asian Tsunami Affected Countries.
The US$1.2 million project in Aceh, which was launched in mid-2005 and ends in September this year, aims to rehabilitate and restore coastal tree and forest resources in tsunami-affected areas through a participatory approach, within the context of integrated coastal area management.
Another goal of the program is to empower coastal communities and help provide livelihoods for residents.
Timothy Nolan, the FAO's technical operations coordinator in Banda Aceh, said the project was not merely about replanting coastal areas.
""The project aims to replant the coastal strip while working with communities as partners and trying to enable them to integrate and to develop their livelihoods again in a sustainable and responsible way,"" he said.
Coastal mangrove forests play an important role, not only in arresting soil erosion but also in the carbon cycle for fish in the sea. Fish live in mangrove forests for days as part of the carbon cycle, while certain fish species use the forests as a breeding ground.
The forests also stop storm surges, while the mangrove trees themselves can be turned into charcoal and used as fuel.
""In the long term, if things are done in a sustainable manner, the community can benefit from the plants. Besides, the land will be much more fertile,"" said FAO guideline specialist Ridwan.
It is difficult to determine whether the loss of mangrove or coastal forests in Aceh was solely the result of the tsunami, or if coastal land conversion into fish ponds or rice fields shares some of the blame.
The government estimates 25,000 hectares of mangrove forests and 48,925 hectares of coastal forest were lost in northern Sumatra in the 2004 tsunami.
In its Master Plan for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, the government foresees replanting 164,840 hectares of mangrove within five years.
Nolan said the FAO project, which involves replanting 247 hectares of coastal strip, is not only important for Aceh's environment but will help the economy and society bounce back.
""What we're trying to do is really build a bridge directly with the community so they can become an integrated and responsible part of the redevelopment of the coastal strip, an integrated coastal zone management.""
Unlike many of the other programs introduced in post-tsunami Aceh, the FAO project focuses on the community, which is directly involved in the work, while making us of local resources such as the assistance organization Kelompok Swadaya Masyarakat, or KSM.
""But the project is not just giving money away. What we're trying to do is raise understanding about the importance of mangrove and the coastal strip.
""So we're trying to introduce awareness and responsibility, not just in the short term but for a very long term. And we're trying to create benefits and incentives for the community to look after the coastal areas,"" Nolan said.
Coastal communities, he said, are already aware of the importance of coastal forests, with fishermen picking up seedlings and planting them along the beach on their own.
""We're just helping them to move it along. So we don't just give money out and ask them to do this ....""
As part of the project, the FAO has prepared a series of programs, including training, to support coastal communities while working with related government offices, such as the forestry office, and local administrations.
To ensure long-term benefits from replanting the coastal forest strip, the organization also secured letters from district chiefs and village heads promising the replanted strip would not be disturbed during or after planting.
These letters, while not necessarily legally binding, provide the basis for an agreement between the government and communities to secure future access and limited rights over the coastal forest resources.
Community development facilitators have also been assigned to work with villagers to assist in and ensure the progress of the program.
""So it's not just like a project where we come in, do something and then go away. We are there permanently with them, learning as we're doing a lot together,"" Nolan said.
In return for replanting and maintaining the coastal strip, the groups taking part in the program have been given funding to plant the seedlings and maintain them until they are strong enough to stand on their own.
The areas around the young trees have also been fenced off to ward off wild pigs and cattle.
""With the fencing, not only have the seedlings grown but all the natural vegetation has come back. It's quite amazing to see this lost vegetations come back ... encouraging nature to do the work by itself,"" Nolan said.
For Rosnia, the young plants mean a better future.
When the coastal forest in her village along Aceh's east coast was still thick and green, she said it was easy for fishermen to bring in huge catches from the sea.
Now making a living from fishing is difficult, and no longer promises a good life.
""I just want my children have a better life than me and this coastal forest promises that,"" she said.
