UNITED NATIONS, Friday (Xinhua) In the year following the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, "a great deal has been accomplished", UN Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery Eric Schwartz said.

The most challenging days lie ahead, however, as the magnitude of the reconstruction requirements severely test the capacities of many local governments, Schwartz told a news conference at the UN Headquarters.

He pointed out that those tsunami-hit countries are making good progress ranging from the immediate prevention of outbreaks of disease, the placing of transitional shelters, schools and other facilities to starting the replacement of permanent schools, health centers and homes. Schwartz was launching a UN report on the status of the recovery effort by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy for the Tsunami Recovery.
 
To cover priorities for next year, Clinton will press donors to remain committed even after much of the world's attention has shifted to other crises, Schwartz said.
He said the Special Envoy will encourage governments to involve their own civil societies in key recovery areas and press for coordinated approaches to generating incomes in such areas as agriculture and fishing.

Of the 10.5 billion U.S. dollars pledged to assist India, Indonesia, Maldives and Sri Lanka, 7.75 billion dollars has been secured so far, he said.