North East Coastal Community Development Project, Sri Lanka, (Board Approval in 2003)
4.4.3 North East Coastal Community Development Project, Sri Lanka, (Board Approval in 2003)
4.4.3.1 Overview
149. This project faced virtually insurmountable problems from the start. The project area, the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, had been under civil war since 1983. Livelihood opportunities were minimal because of damaged infrastructure, destroyed natural resources, disrupted social services, lack of institutional structures, security restrictions, out-migration of people, and a general lull in investment. Poverty was pervasive in the project area. ADB persisted because the project was critical to the Government’s efforts in promoting post-conflict rehabilitation and reconciliation. Because the devastation was so vast and the human resources of government were so limited, there was no way to undertake this project other than through a participatory approach.
150. Most of the population continue to rely on fishing and farming as a livelihood. The objective of the project is to reduce poverty and meet basic needs in coastal communities in three districts of the Eastern Province through sustainable livelihood improvement, resource management in three special management areas, coastal resource planning, fisheries development, and project implementation support.
151. The CDD features of the project include community consultations to assist villagers in assessing their condition and defining their needs and aspirations; community-based resource management 151. The CDD features of the project include community consultations to assist villagers in assessing their condition and defining their needs and aspirations; community-based resource management
4.4.3.2 Highlights of design phase
152. ADB undertook extensive preparatory work in designing the project. The project preparatory technical assistance (PPTA) consultants faced numerous challenges working in an area affected by civil war, mainly due to lack of access. Following completion of the PPTA, ADB fielded several additional missions and undertook additional surveys and consultations to ensure a well-designed project. ADB undertook more than the normal effort in post-PPTA project preparation activities. The outcome was a well-designed project that had strong ownership by the executing agency. The resulting design is a combination of a top-down planning process involving the province-, district-, and division-level administrations and a bottom-up CDD process for provision of basic infrastructure and livelihood development opportunities.
153. The ADB team during the design phase included specialists in development economics, regional and rural development, environmental and natural resource management, sociology, anthropology, and coastal engineering.
4.4.3.3 Implementation highlights
154. Project implementation has been challenging. Project staff have to ensure a balance between beneficiaries among three ethnic groups, implement activities in government-controlled and rebel- controlled areas, and motivate people in the community who have known nothing but civil war for most of their adult lives.
155. Civilian administration systems had deteriorated extensively due to the long conflict. As a result, the project relies on NGOs as implementation partners to mobilize, train, and involve communities in project activities. Contracting these NGOs became a challenge. The project needed NGOs that not only had the competency required but were willing to work under the prevailing conditions. One of the criteria was they had to have an exit strategy after one year of operations. They had to be able to turn over project management to the community and enable the latter to seek their own funding at the end of that period.
156. The NGOs prepare village development plans (VDPs) based on the result of community assessment and planning. The VDPs define the community’s condition based on the perspective of the villagers and identify subprojects along the lines of basic community infrastructure and livelihood opportunities that are chosen by the people themselves.
157. At the time of the last review mission (last quarter 2005), 54 VDPs had been completed and work has started on 25 subprojects. However, a review of the VDPs revealed that these represented a wish list of projects rather than a cohesive development strategy for the village. The projects included badly needed community infrastructure but the VDPs did not present livelihood opportunities. They also did not provide operation and maintenance plans. It became evident that the NGOs were not engaging the communities adequately.
158. As a result, project management has decided to re-train the implementing NGOs to enable them to conduct a more comprehensive consultation process. The sustainable livelihood model developed by DFID was adopted as the basis for engaging communities in the VDP process. The NGOs have been asked to revise VDPs according to these specifications. Although this will inevitably result in delays, the project officer decided that he would rather ensure that the investments would contribute to achieving the objective of improving people’s livelihood rather than simply achieving the quantitative outputs of the project.
159. Sri Lanka was one of the countries badly affected by the Asian tsunami of December 2004. The project area was one of the most severely affected areas. The tsunami had significant impact on the project; project communities suffered heavily from loss of lives, damage to property, and disruption of the meager livelihoods that existed before the tsunami. Additionally, following the tsunami, the demand for NGO services, demand for construction material, and the general cost of all supplies have increased enormously. The project was well positioned to serve as a delivery mechanism for post-disaster rehabilitation efforts and ADB decided to use it as one of the vehicles for providing post-tsunami emergency assistance to Sri Lanka. As a result, the project budget increased by 100%. It is now poised to undertake both post-tsunami and post-conflict rehabilitation.
4.4.3.4.1 Insights
160. This project is a remarkable story of how projects can be designed and implemented effectively through determination and diligence in spite of numerous challenges. The PPTA was somewhat visionary because it was planned in anticipation of a cease-fire and return of normalcy in this war-torn part of the country. The obstacles during project preparation and design phase were overcome through determination to pursue the project because of its significance to the country’s future. The risk that was taken with the investments made is paying off. Through the project, ADB has established an effective delivery mechanism on the ground, which has enabled both ADB and other donors to target communities affected by civil war and the tsunami in the north and east of Sri Lanka.
161. One of the key success factors of this project is the dynamic and visionary leadership provided by the provincial government. The Chief Secretary was instrumental in moving the project forward and holding the NGOs and other implementing agencies to high standards of performance. An equally important factor in the success of this project to date has been the highly committed and extremely diligent project director and his staff. They have faced all the challenges so far with great confidence and with strong determination.
162. The leadership provided by ADB has been manifest not only during the design phase but more particularly during implementation. Concerned about long-term impact and sustainability of the subprojects, ADB insisted that the VDPs be repeated following the prescribed process despite the cost. Accurate community inputs regarding natural resource management are a vital to the overall development strategy and ADB did not want to compromise that for short-term gains.