Workshop seeks to build capacity in coastal mitigation
A training workshop on 'Capacity Building of Coastal Communities on Coastal Mitigation' was conducted at AIT on 16-19 January 2007 for participants from Ranong Province, Thailand.
Funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program, the training workshop's goal was to make coastal communities, local government units and non-governmental organizations be proactive in coastal mitigation. The project also seeks to provide technical assistance to the training participants in their preparation and development of a coastal mitigation plan.
On 16 January, Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT president, welcomed the participants, while Ms. Vivian Raksakulthai, technical deputy director of the program gave the opening remarks. Dr. Amrit Bart, Post-Tsunami Sustainable Coastal Livelihoods Program director, also shared information about his USAID-funded project which is related to this new project.
Also present at the opening ceremony were Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, dean of the School of Environment, Resources and Development and Dr. Amararatne Yakupitiyage, coordinator of Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management field of study.
This project is coordinated by Dr. Wenresti G. Gallardo from the Integrated Tropical Coastal Zone Management Program(ITCZM), SERD. The other four faculty members who are part of the interdisciplinary team were: Dr. Kou Ikejima, ITCZM; Dr. Mokbul Morshed Ahmad, Regional and Rural Development Planning; Dr. Animesh Dutta, Energy; and Prof. Dennes T. Bergado, Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.
During the workshop, participants were provided with technical knowledge in four modules: the role of communities, local government units and non-governmental organizations in coastal mitigation; coastal resources management and integrated coastal zone management; renewable and alternative energy sources for livelihood and reduction of pressure on the use of coastal resources (mangroves and coral reefs); and proper design and construction of coastal protection infrastructures.