title: Grassroots development and upwards accountabilities: tensions in the reconstruction of Aceh's fishing industry.
abstract: This article explores the tensions between aid funding and grassroots development goals in the context of post-disaster fisheries reconstruction in Aceh, Indonesia. We argue that both short- and long-term grassroots goals are distorted by upward accountability requirements which lead to unsatisfactory aid outcomes. Our analysis employs the concept of aid webs and draws on fifty-one formal interviews with stakeholders in Aceh in 2007/2008. The findings initially concentrate on the impacts of upward accountability on project cycles, with a particular focus on the problematic incorporation of private boat-building contractors and commercial values during the implementation phase. We then discuss the more subtle, long-term impacts of upward accountability on the professionalization of community institutions — in this case, the Panglima Laot Lhok. We conclude with a few observations about the hybrid institutions — combining elements of local and development cultures — that are produced within the current political economy of aid.
authors.affiliation: Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Rowan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McGregor
mesh_terms: D019058:Community Networks / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D004190:Disasters / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D004467:Economics / Q000266:history; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D005398:Fisheries / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D005523:Food Supply / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D049674:History, 21st Century; D007182:Income / Q000266:history; D007214:Indonesia / Q000208:ethnology; D009111:Local Government / Q000266:history; D011634:Public Health / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000266:history