Srijana Bhattarai

Srijana is a Senior Social Safeguards Advisor at the USAID and Australia Mekong Safeguards Program, implemented by the Asia Foundation. As a social practitioner, she has worked in various sectors with diverse communities leading community engagements, social impact assessments, resettlement and livelihood restoration planning and designing benefit sharing mechanisms.

She brings extensive field experience and best practices to the Mekong Safeguards Program which aims to strengthen environmental and social performance in infrastructure development in the Mekong subregion.

Mapping the Sea: Knowledge for Natural Resources Management

The 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia claimed the lives of thousands of fishers. Their deaths also took away much knowledge of coastal areas, fishing grounds, ocean currents, and navigational hazards. The fishers left in Aceh faced reduced incomes since they experienced various difficulties, such as regular net and boat damage due to unknown underwater obstructions. Many boat crews’ lives were also at risk, since they often could not identify their positions at sea.