For updated news and reports from FAO on the tsunami and its impacts on fisheries. This site contains extended information on the tsunami disaster on all countries affected (including Somalia).
"Preliminary assessment of impact of tsunami in selected coastal areas of India" . Includes background to the tsunami, physical impact and some details of impact on biological resourcesm ecology and coral reefs. Compiled by the Department of Ocean DEvelopment , Integrated coastal and marine area management project directorate, Chennai. March 2005.
ReefBase is the world's premier online information system on coral reefs, and provides information services to coral reef professionals involved in management, research, monitoring, conservation and education.
Special Page: Tsunami impacts on coral reefs
The report "Summary of Preliminary Rapid Assessments of Coral Reefs in Affected Southeast Asian Countries following the Asian Tsunami Event on December 26 2004. Report compiled by WorldFish Center, GCRMN and Japan Wildlife Research Center. 6 p." is available through the site
Our goal is to facilitate sustainable management of coral reefs and related coastal/marine environments, in order to benefit poor people in developing countries whose livelihoods depend on these natural resources.
UNEP website with links to situation reports and environmental assessments (by country)
The destruction caused by the Asian tsunami to the environment offers an opportunity to rebuild in a manner that preserves natural resources for the benefit of the local communities who were hardest hit by the disaster, a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says. Vulnerability mapping is urgently needed to pin point coastal sites where homes, hotels, factories and other infrastructure should be banned or restricted. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP
Many of the rural communities adversely affected by the tsunami depend on mangroves and other coastal forests and trees for their livelihoods. Directly through the harvesting of wood and non-wood forest products - including timber, poles, fuelwood and thatch for houses - and indirectly through the role mangroves play in the marine food web and by providing spawning grounds and shelter for fish and shellfish.
The extent of the damage to mangroves and other coastal forests and trees by the tsunami is still not clear and it may take some time before the final impacts are known, since changes in topography, soil salinity and freshwater in-flow from upstream may adversely affect the forests in the longer term.
FAO is currently analyzing available information on the damage caused, the immediate needs for wood, and the role mangroves and other coastal forests played in mitigating the impacts of the tsunami. A plan for a more in-depth assessment of these aspects and for support to countries in their reconstruction efforts has been developed. The goal is to assist countries in the region to meet their immediate needs and to prepare and implement strategies for restoring livelihoods and meeting the longer-term forestry-related needs within an integrated coastal management programme.
This web site aims to provide information on the forestry-related aspects of the tsunami and to provide advice and assistance to those involved in the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.
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Indian Ocean tsunami
OXFAM-UK Briefing note on the impact of tsunami on women 