MANILA, Aug 18, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund environmental management in the Maldives after the December 2004 tsunami disaster, through a technical assistance (TA) grant approved of 400,000 US dollars, according to an ADB news release on Thursday.
The TA grant is made by ADB's Cooperation Fund for the Water Sector, a multidonor facility financed by the governments of Netherlands and Norway.
The ADB-funded program for the Maldives will focus on environmental health and awareness, designing a strategy for reconstructing the water and sanitation sector following the tsunami and improve the country's environmental assessment capability.
Only 198 out of more than 1,000 small coral islands that make up the Maldives are inhabited. Their ecosystems are among the world's most vulnerable and the economy relies on two sectors - tourism and fishing.
The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami last year ravaged the country's infrastructure, endangering public health and contaminating groundwater.
