BANGKOK, 9 February 2009 (IRIN) - Myanmar will need nearly US$700 million in international aid over the next three years for ongoing recovery efforts in the Ayeyarwady Delta, the UN said.

The area was devastated by Cyclone Nargis last May, which left 140,000 people dead or missing, according to the UN and government figures.

"This is a small requirement in proportion to the magnitude of the disaster," Bishow Parajuli, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, told IRIN on 9 February.

"The long-term recovery efforts after such a devastating natural disaster will take many years, and it is a major challenge to maintain donors' and partners' interest and support," he added.

His comments coincided with the launch of the Post-Nargis Response and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP) [see: http://www.asean.org/CN.htm] , which establishes a three-year strategic framework in guiding recovery efforts for victims of Nargis through December 2011.

The report, released in Bangkok, was prepared jointly by the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), comprising the Myanmar government, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN.

"The PONREPP proposes a strategy that will be community-based and community-driven, while also strengthening aid coordination, management, and tracking to promote maximum aid effectiveness," said Thai Ambassador Bansarn Bunnag, a senior ASEAN member of the TCG.

The TCG has handled the international relief aid efforts for the Myanmar disaster over the past nine months. It was set up last June after a donor meeting in Yangon, chaired by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

Cyclone Nargis swept through Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta on 2 and 3 May, causing unprecedented destruction and affected 2.4 million people.

The TCG has since assessed the damage and continues to monitor relief and rehabilitation needs.

But assistance to date - although sufficient to meet the basic requirements - has still fallen short.

A $477 million flash appeal relaunched by the UN in July on behalf of 13 UN organisations and 23 NGOs for emergency relief and early recovery efforts through to April 2009 is still just 65 percent funded.

One of the key successes, according to the UN and the TCG, has been getting agriculture back on its feet.

Total food production in Myanmar declined by only 3 percent last year, compared with the country's five-year average, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

"If you look at rice production in the last year, the areas in the eastern part of the delta really were quite significant," WFP country representative for Myanmar, Christopher Kaye, said.

"I met farmers who actually produced more per hectare last year than the previous year, largely because of inputs they received in terms of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides," Kaye said.

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