In January, Dr. Ian MacPherson traveled to Sri Lanka to visit the tsunami-ravaged coastline with Robby Tulus, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) special envoy and associate of the BCICS, to the region.

They met with representatives from a number of international co-operative organizations to develop a reconstruction and development program for the area of Aceh, an Indonesian province on the northern tip of Sumatra. This area was hit particularly hard by the Tsunami in 2004. Another objective of the meeting was to appeal to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for funding to support BCICS involvement in reconstruction and peace efforts for the Aceh region, especially after the signing of the peace accord which ended a 15 year armed conflict in the Province.

Dr. MacPherson viewed the meeting as a success. "It was the first time that most of the main co-op development agencies had really sat down with some key sponsoring agencies as a group and discussed collectively how they do their work," he said. "We developed a protocol of how co-ops could and should react to disasters, basically to govern their participation in development. We also determined that the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Co-ops (COPAC) would assume the role of a forum for international development organizations. This is great, as it provides a neutral place for people engaged in development work to meet and exchange experiences and plan for a more coordinated impact on the development world."

Prior to the Tsunami, Aceh was embroiled in armed conflict between Indonesian security forces and Aceh rebels. In 2003, martial law was declared in the region and outsiders were not allowed to enter the area. Aceh was also home to a co-operative movement consisting of 4,800 co-ops with a membership of 420,000. But these co-ops were hampered by government intervention and rebel harassment.

Oddly, the Tsunami can be viewed as a potentially positive agent of change in the Aceh region, despite the wide-spread death and destruction, as it opened the region up to outside aid with the biggest benefit being a peace accord and it encouraged people to work together.

In Aceh province, there is currently a need for co-operatives to reconstitute an inclusive community-level planning process to help communities rebuild their livelihoods, and at the same time arbitrate local disputes and confusion arising from past conflicts. That is why BCICS is responding positively to a request from local co-operative partners in Aceh to develop a reconstruction program focusing on poverty reduction, peace and democracy, good governance, restoration of livelihood, employment creation and empowerment of women.

Adam Harrison