UNEP Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme July – December 2011 B IANNUAL P ROGRESS R EPORT Minimizing threats to human well-being from the environmental causes and consequences of disasters and conflicts is a priority area for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme comprises four operational pillars: post-crisis environmental assessment, post-crisis environmental recovery, environmental cooperation for peacebuilding and disaster risk reduction. While the Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch (PCDMB) coordinates the theme across UNEP, the regional offices, other divisions and several inter-agency partnerships are instrumental in its implementation. For more information contact us at: [email protected]Or visit: www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts Post-Crisis Environmental Assessment ........................ p2 Post-Crisis Environmental Recovery ........................... p9 Evironmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding ................p20 Disaster Risk Reduction ......................................p25 The Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) ...........p29 Publications – recent releases ................................p33 Overview Welcome to the new biannual update for UNEP’s Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme, replacing our quarterly format. By the end of the 2010-2011 period, UNEP had played an active role in reducing the risk of disasters and conflicts and addressing post-crisis environmental challenges in more than 30 countries. This update covers activities between July and December 2011, carried out across the spectrum of the sub- programme. Contact us To provide feedback, add recipients or unsubscribe, please contact us at: [email protected]Archive Previous issues of the UNEP Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme Quarterly Progress Reports are available here . UNEP participated in a joint Post Disaster Needs Assessment exercise in the aftermath of the Thailand floods (see p.6)
Transcript
UNEP Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programmeJuly – December 2011
BIANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT
Minimizing threats to human well-being from the environmental causes and consequences of disasters and conflicts is a priority area for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme comprises four operational pillars: post-crisis environmental assessment, post-crisis environmental recovery, environmental cooperation for peacebuilding and disaster risk reduction. While the Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch (PCDMB) coordinates the theme across UNEP, the regional offices, other divisions and several inter-agency partnerships are instrumental in its implementation.
For more information contact us at: [email protected] Or visit: www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
OverviewWelcome to the new biannual update for UNEP’s Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme, replacing our quarterly format.
By the end of the 2010-2011 period, UNEP had played an active role in reducing the risk of disasters and conflicts and addressing post-crisis environmental challenges in more than 30 countries.
This update covers activities between July and December 2011, carried out across the spectrum of the sub-programme.
Contact usTo provide feedback, add recipients or unsubscribe, please contact us at: [email protected]
ArchivePrevious issues of the UNEP Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme Quarterly Progress Reports are available here.
UNEP participated in a joint Post Disaster Needs Assessment exercise in the aftermath of the Thailand floods (see p.6)
Ogoniland report reveals severity of oil contaminationReleased in August, UNEP’s scientific assessment in Ogoniland revealed that pollution from more than 50 years of oil operations in the region has penetrated further and deeper than previously thought. The unprecedented UNEP study was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government and covered more than 200 oil-impacted sites in Ogoniland and the surrounding creeks.
The President of Nigeria, The Hon. Goodluck Jonathan, was formally presented with the Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland report by the Director of UNEP’s Division for Environmental Policy Implementation, Mr Ibrahim Thiaw, at State House in Abuja. Present at the report handover were the Chairman of the Presidential Implementation Committee, The Most Reverend Matthew Kukah; the Minister for the Environment, Mrs Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafiya; Ogoniland’s Paramount Ruler, His Majesty King G.N.K. Gininwa, and other senior representatives from Ogoniland and the Rivers State and federal governments.
The assessment has found that exposure to hydrocarbons is putting the health of some community members at serious risk and identifies eight emergency measures which warrant immediate action. The most serious case of groundwater contamination was at Nisisioken Ogale, in Eleme local government area, where the drinking water in wells was contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen, at levels over 900 times above the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline. UNEP welcomed the Rivers State Government’s intervention in late August to provide alternative water supplies to the affected communities.
It is UNEP’s hope that its findings will help break the decades of deadlock in the region and lead to the environmental restoration of Ogoniland, and catalyze improved environmental standards for the oil industry in Nigeria and around the world.
The report findings include:
� The Ogoni community is exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons in outdoor air and drinking water, sometimes at elevated concentrations. They are also exposed through dermal contacts from contaminated soil, sediments and surface water.
� At two-thirds of the land sites which were assessed in detail, the soil contamination exceeds Nigerian standards. In 49 cases, UNEP observed hydrocarbons in soil at depths of at least 5 metres.
� The impact of oil on mangrove vegetation has been disastrous. The fisheries sector is suffering due to the destruction of fish habitat in the mangroves and highly persistent contamination of many of the creeks.
� The wetlands around Ogoniland are highly degraded and facing disintegration.
� Remote sensing revealed the rapid growth in the past two years of artisanal refining, whereby crude oil is distilled in makeshift facilities.
� Overlapping authorities and responsibilities between Government ministries and a lack of resources within key agencies is having serious implications for environmental management on-the-ground, including enforcement.
� The control, maintenance and decommissioning of oilfield infrastructure in Ogoniland are inadequate. Industry best practices and Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) own procedures have not been applied.
According to the report, all sources of ongoing contamination must be brought to an end before the clean-up of the creeks, sediments and mangroves can begin. Due to the wide extent of contamination, a combination of clean-up approaches will need to be considered, ranging from active intervention for cleaning the top soil and replanting mangrove to passive monitoring of natural regeneration.
Post-Crisis Environmental AssessmentUnder the Post-Crisis Environmental Assessment pillar of the Disasters and Conflicts sub-programme, UNEP offers technical assistance to countries where critical ecosystems or natural resources have been directly or indirectly degraded, damaged or destroyed by conflicts and disasters. Field-based assessments using sound science and state-of-the-art technology identify environmental risks to human health, livelihoods and security with the aim of integrating environmental needs into relief and recovery programmes.
ContentsOgoniland report reveals severity of oil contamination ................................................................2
Major DR Congo assessment launched ...........................4
Fuel fires in Kenya’s capital ............................................5
� The establishment of three new institutions in Nigeria is recommended to support a comprehensive environmental restoration exercise and an initial capital injection of US$1 billion contributed by the oil industry and the government, to cover the first five years of the clean-up project;
� The establishment of a public health registry for the entire Ogoniland population would determine health trends and take proactive action individually or collectively where impacts related to long-term exposure to hydrocarbon pollution are evident;
� A thorough review of Shell Petroleum Development Company procedures for oil spill clean-up and remediation; and
� Developing local nurseries to help ensure that healthy, indigenous plants will be available to regenerate heavily impacted mangrove stands.
In August, the President decided to establish a government committee to review UNEP’s report and make recommendations on immediate and long-term remedial actions. UNEP also provided a follow-up note to the government outlining the key issues for
consideration during the next 12 months to ensure that a full-scale environmental restoration of Ogoniland and the surrounding creeks can begin at the earliest possible stage. This Transition Phase is recommended to maintain momentum and enable detailed planning to begin in the period between the release of UNEP’s environmental assessment and the commencement of a clean-up operation.
UNEP has reaffirmed its readiness to assist the government with further steps to support a clean-up of Ogoniland, if formally requested.
UNEP wishes to thank everyone who contributed to the assessment, including the people of Ogoniland, the multi-disciplinary project team and the key partners, including the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
The information generated by UNEP’s study has amounted to more than 1,000 pages, comprising the report and 67 separate site-specific fact sheets prepared for the sites investigated in detail by UNEP. The report and fact sheets are available for download from the UNEP website at: www.unep.org/nigeria
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan receives the Ogoniland assessment report from the Director of UNEP’s Division for Environmental Policy Implementation, Ibrahim Thiaw, at State House in Abuja
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Major DR Congo assessment launchedUNEP’s DR Congo Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment: Synthesis for Policy Makers was launched in October in Kinshasa to coincide with a high-level forum on forests and climate change. UNEP’s Executive Director, Mr Achim Steiner, and the DR Congo Minister of Environment, H.E. Mr José Endundo, presided over the event, together with the Minister of Forests of the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), H.E. Mr Henri Djombo, and the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in DR Congo, Mr Fidèle Sarassoro.
The press conference was attended by around 100 local and international journalists, representatives of international organizations and donors. Speaking at the event, Minister Endundo praised the assessment and made a strong plea for continued UNEP engagement in the DR Congo, in order to ensure follow up and implementation of the report recommendations.
The launch followed government endorsement of UNEP’s draft post-conflict environmental assessment report during
a technical meeting, with senior government officials in Kinshasa in August.
The major two-year assessment was conducted by UNEP in conjunction with the DR Congo’s Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism (MENCT), with funding from the Government of Norway. The assessment underlines the global significance and extraordinary potential of the country’s natural and mineral resources set against a backdrop of prolonged conflict and considerable development challenges. It highlights successful initiatives and identifies strategic opportunities to restore livelihoods, promote good governance and support the sustainability of the DRC’s post-conflict economic reconstruction and reinforce ongoing peace consolidation.
According to the report, the DR Congo could become a powerhouse of African development given it contains half of Africa’s forests and water resources, and trillion-dollar mineral reserves.
However, the assessment concludes that country’s rapidly growing population (nearly 70 million) and intense international competition for raw materials are placing multiple pressures on the DR Congo’s natural
According to the DR Congo assessment released in October, up to 1.7 million tonnes of bushmeat (mainly antelope, duiker, monkey and wild boar) are harvested annually from unregulated hunting and poaching, contributing to species depletion
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resource base. Also, patterns of illegal use of natural resources have helped to fuel conflict and human tragedies. UNEP’s report warns that if these trends are left unchecked, it will be difficult for the DR Congo to achieve a sustainable future.
The key findings include:
� Despite being Africa’s most water-rich country, the DR Congo faces a drinking water crisis with around 51 million people lacking access to safe drinking water.
� The country has the highest level of biological diversity in Africa; yet 190 species are classified as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
� As the tropical world’s second largest forest carbon sink, the DR Congo’s forests are a critical global ecosystem service provider.
� Among the successes, the Congolese Wildlife Authority has secured the Virunga National Park since 2007 by stepping-up anti-poaching patrols, stopping the destruction of forest for charcoal production and relocating Internally Displaced Persons.
� The country is one of the world’s most important mining centres. Its untapped mineral reserves are of strategic importance to the global economy and are estimated to be worth US$24 trillion.
� More than half of the DR Congo is covered with mining, forestry and oil exploitation and exploration permits, some which overlap with World Heritage sites. Yet concessions have provided negligible work opportunities and have done little to improve the well-being of Congo’s population.
� The Congo basin supports Africa’s largest inland fisheries with an estimated production potential of
520,000 tonnes per year. While at the national level this resource is under-exploited, there are many instances of serious overfishing pressures at the local level.
� The most alarming climate change-related issue is the vulnerability of rain-fed small-scale agriculture on which the majority of Congolese rely for subsistence.
Four main policy actions are recommended in UNEP’s assessment to promote sustainable wealth creation, poverty alleviation and long-term peace building: (i) capitalizing on the DR Congo’s emerging social economy to generate employment; (ii) maximizing synergies through area-based development programming; (iii) integrating economic valuation of ecosystem services into all development planning, and (iv) engaging in a ‘green economy’ transition to achieve sustainable development.
The assessment advocates for a fundamental rethinking of the DR Congo’s ‘frontier approach’ to the use of its natural resources – to gaining greater value from them to help provide funding for reconstruction. The legacy of a century of mining in various parts of the country, particularly in Katanga, has created considerable environmental liabilities and a new, modern approach to mining is required.
Coinciding with the synthesis report’s release, a UNEP-sponsored documentary, ‘Sortir du chaos’ (Conservation from Chaos), aired on at least seven national TV stations, including the national public broadcaster, RTNC.
The synthesis report and documentary are available via UNEP’s bilingual (French and English) website at: www.unep.org/drcongo
Contact: Hassan Partow, Programme Manager, UNEP Country Programme for the DR Congo, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
Fuel fires in Kenya’s capitalA major fuel spill and subsequent fire broke out on 12 September 2011 in the Mukuru-Sinai slums of Nairobi, Kenya. More than 100 people were killed and an equal number were hospitalized with serious burns.
In response to an official request from the Kenyan Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources (MEMR), the UNEP-OCHA Joint Environment Unit (JEU) formed an expert team to assess the extent and nature of the pollution and to assist with the decision-making and priority setting by the authorities and other actors for follow-up activities at the site.
The mission’s main conclusion was that the fire was not caused by a pipeline explosion as initially reported, but
from an industrial accident that caused a large amount of petrol to enter the stormwater drainage system. The event was further compounded by pre-existing, chronic pollution from other uncontrolled industrial effluent being released into the stormwater drainage system and the Ngong River.
Detailed recommendations were provided to improve the preparedness for environmental emergencies at both the national and local levels in Kenya. The Rapid Environmental Emergency Assessment on the fuel spill and fire in the Mukuru-Sinai slums of Nairobi is available here.
Thailand floods responseIn late 2011, Thailand experienced its worst flooding in 50 years. The floods inundated more than six million hectares of land in 66 of the country’s 77 provinces, including urban Bangkok, although preventive efforts helped to protect the city centre. More than 13 million people were affected from July to December 2011. A flood of this magnitude impacts all aspects of the environment and causes considerable environmental impacts.
At the government’s request, a Post Disaster Needs Assessment was launched in the country by the World Bank. Along with other UN Agencies, UNEP was invited to take part. In November, a UNEP staff member with post-crisis expertise was deployed in the flood-impacted areas to provide inputs for the environmental section of the needs assessment.
The Post Disaster Needs Assessment exercise resulted in quantitative estimates of the environmental damage during the floods as well as specific recommendations for environmental restoration and prevention of similar floods in the future. In this report, the focus is on possible hotspots and issues with potential cumulative environmental impacts, such as disaster waste management, sand disposal, or mangroves and wetlands sedimentation. The needs assessment was submitted to the Thai Government in December and is expected to form the basis of follow-up actions in the short and medium term. It is due to be formally endorsed in early 2012.
To assess the environmental impacts of the recent Thailand floods, UNEP participated in the joint Post Disaster Needs Assessment exercise
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Assistance following Ghana flash floodOn 26 October 2011, Ghana’s Accra region of Ghana was also affected by a major flood event which killed 14 people and left an estimated 17,000 homeless. In response to a request from the UN Resident Coordinator, the UNEP-OCHA Joint Environment Unit (JEU) deployed an environmental expert from 1-15 November.
The mission’s focus was to provide assistance with disaster waste management, which was the major underlying cause of the flash flooding. The massive
amount of waste discharged from the flood washed into surrounding rivers and lagoons, adding to the existing environmental stress. The number of incidents of cholera also reportedly increased. Detailed recommendations were provided on flood risk reduction and associated waste management measures.
The rapid disaster waste management assessment available here.
As a result of the major flood event in the Accra region, a massive amount of waste was washed into surrounding rivers and lagoons, added to the existing environmental stress
UN system study on nuclear safetyFollowing the nuclear emergency in Japan which began unfolding in March 2011, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon highlighted the need for the international community to rethink nuclear energy and safety issues at the global level. Mr Ban requested a UN system study on the implications of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was the coordinating entity, while the primary contributors to the report included OCHA, UNICEF, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (ISDR), WHO and UNEP.
The report was presented at a High-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security on 22 September in New York during the 66th session of the General Assembly. The
study addresses a variety of areas, including environment, health, food security, sustainable development and the nexus between nuclear safety and nuclear security. It also presents system-wide views on how to improve disaster risk preparedness. More information available here.
In addition, at the IAEA’s invitation, UNEP staff attended the 22nd Regular Meeting of the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies (IACRNE) held in Paris in December. The Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD hosted the meeting which was attended by representatives from 14 participating organizations. Organizations presented their activities and discussed the lessons learned from emergency response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.
Training toolkit to assist humanitarian actionA new training toolkit addresses the different ways in which the environment can be taken into account in humanitarian and early recovery contexts. Released in November, the toolkit was designed by UNEP and a French NGO partner, Groupe URD, to assist international and national actors working in the humanitarian sector.
The toolkit is available in French and English and consists of 11 modules covering a broad range of themes such as: water management and ecological sanitation; waste management; reduction of and alternatives to the use of firewood; humanitarian logistics and the environment.
Entitled Integrating the environment into humanitarian action and early recovery, the toolkit is intended to be a living resource that will continually evolve as it is used and applied. Modules are meant to be adjusted to the local context and to training needs and priorities. The training was developed with the support of the Flemish International Cooperation Agency of Belgium and can be accessed online here (English) and here (French). In addition, 1,000 DVDs were produced for international distribution and may be distributed upon request.
On 15 November, UNEP also launched the French version of its online Resource Centre on Mainstreaming the Environment into Humanitarian Action. More than 150 resources including guidelines, tools and training (including the new toolkit) related to humanitarian
action and the environment are now available through the resource centre, thanks to contributions from more than 20 organizations. By making such resources easily accessible, the resource centre aims to equip humanitarian practitioners with the skills and knowledge to better mainstream the environment into their work. See: http://postconflict.unep.ch/humanitarianaction/
Integrating the environment into humanitarian action and early recovery
~Intégrer l’environnement dans l’action humanitaire et le relèvement précoce
Formation
Environmental emergencies conferenceA Wilton Park Conference on “Environmental Emergencies: Strengthening the Multilateral Humanitarian and Environmental Response” was held from 12-14 September in Montreux, Switzerland. The UNEP-OCHA Joint Environment Unit provided substantial logistical support for the event, which was attended by over 50 high-level participants from Member States, the private sector, civil organizations and the UN, including Under-Secretary-General, Sha Zukang.
With the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, scheduled for mid-2012, this event contributed to raising awareness of the importance of preparedness and prevention of environmental emergencies and disasters. In particular, substantive inputs provided by representatives from the Advisory Group on Environmental Emergencies, with support of the UNEP-OCHA Joint Environment Unit, fed into the Zero Draft of the Rio +20 Outcome Document, which subsequently called “for increased coordination among national, regional and international levels for a robust response to environmental emergencies”.
On a related note, the former chair of the Advisory Group on Environmental Emergences for 2009-2011, H.E. Ambassador Toni Frisch of Switzerland, was nominated as Senior Advisor to Under-Secretary-General Zukang for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development.
Post-Crisis Environmental Recovery Based on the outcomes of environmental assessments, UNEP works to develop recovery programmes that encompass environmental governance, clean-up and rehabilitation, and ecosystem management projects. These programmes provide an initial anchor for UNEP in crisis-affected countries, which can be used as a basis for wider programming involving other priority areas. UNEP also acts as the focal point for environmental issues within the UN country team and works to integrate environmental needs into UN recovery programmes.
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) and pollution control: UNEP continued to provide technical support to Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) on strengthening EIA procedures. An introductory five half-day training course on EIA for 12 new staff of NEPA was successfully completed in August. Support continued to be given to the Environmental Standards Development Committee of the Afghan National Standards Authority in the review of Environmental Emission Standards. With regard to Multilateral Environmental Agreements, UNEP worked with NEPA to initiate an inter-institutional consultation process on the three pollution-related conventions and the Kyoto Protocol, specifically within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for forwarding these conventions for ratification to Parliament. Finally, in November, a UNEP expert on EIAs and pollution control delivered a four half day training program on Pollution Related Conventions, Kyoto Protocol and Opportunities from GEF to 30 NEPA staff.
Sustainable building reconstruction ..............................19
AfghanistanEnvironment law and policy: In June, the Forestry Law was passed in Afghanistan’s Lower House of Parliament, Wolesi Jirga. In September 2011, the Upper House, the Meshrano Jirga, approved the Forestry Law without any major issues. This law represents a noteworthy milestone of UNEP’s capacity building and environmental governance support to the country, which is now endowed with a sound legal framework for the conservation and protection of the country’s forests and biodiversity.
During the reporting period, the Afghan National Standards Authority High Level Commission established a Clean Air Regulation under the Environment Law, and also reviewed and approved the regulations for Waste Municipal Management, Noise Pollution Control and Biomedical Waste Management regulations. Following endorsement from other governmental stakeholders, these regulations will be submitted to the Parliament for approval.
The UNEP Evaluation Mission for the Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme spent a week with the UNEP Afghanistan team in November
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Climate change: The project preparation process for the GEF Climate Change Adaptation project “Building Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change in Afghanistan” continued. Four provincial intervention sites were chosen and specific activities were prepared and costed with local intervention partners. Furthermore, the GEF Climate Change Initial National Communication (INC) project development process made progress. The thematic reports are being finalized by five thematic National Study Teams. These individual thematic reports underwent an internal review process in late 2011. Another National Study Team, which comprises the heads of all five thematic study teams, began drafting the INC report which should be ready early 2012.
Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM): UNEP catalyzed support from UN partner agencies, namely the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for another eight CBNRM project sites: seven in Bamyan province and one in Herat province. This takes to 30 the number of CBNRM pilot sites in which restoration activities are being undertaken by communities involved directly in managing their local natural resources and pilot testing the NRM policy and strategy of Afghanistan.
Project management will be led by the local district development authorities, with UNEP playing an advisory and monitoring role. This is a significant paradigm shift from previous implementation modalities where UNEP took the lead in project implementation. A unique characteristic of these eight sites is their approach to natural resources restoration and management. These sites are adjacent to each other and the local communities believe that joint cooperation and action is the more effective way to stabilize their local river environment – a sound scientific approach. Of the 30 sites, 21 have already written their draft natural resource management plans. These local plans are being championed by the national rangeland working group of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) as an example of community-government partnership in managing the natural resources.
Protected areas: At the national level, UNEP continued to work on integrating protected areas into the Afghanistan National Development Strategy priority programmes. Twenty-two National Priority Programmes have been identified and environmental conservation is being considered as one of these. During the reporting period, UNEP continued to foster national level Environmental Dialogues, illustrating the key role environment played in rural development, poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods strategies.
A first draft of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action plan was completed as part of Afghanistan’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and will include protected areas as examples of in-situ conservation.
In addition, UNEP’s guidance for an ecosystem-based approach to adaptation was accepted for the Least Developed Countries Fund Climate Change project. UNEP deepened its cooperation with civil society in Bamyan, including with the national NGO, the Conservation Organization for Afghan Mountain Areas (COAM), implementing a community conservation programme in mountain communities of the pilot Shah Foladi Protected Area project in the Central Highlands. This organization, with local community and civil society representation, will partner with UNEP in implementing field projects in the region at the local level, such as the newly launched clean cookstoves and ecological restoration project in Bamyan province. In-depth power surveys of Bamyan Bazaar and villages of the flagship Shah Foladi Protected Area have already been completed while local metal-smith, engineers and environmental experts have teamed up to design clean stoves and locally-appropriate and low-cost energy solutions. Expected progress on cooking stoves could improve indoor air quality for thousands of rural families; give rural women jobs; protect biodiversity whilst reducing degradation of rangelands and help Afghanistan in adapting to and mitigating climate change. See also: www.myafghanmountains.org
Improved stove design can bake bread, boil water and cook potatoes with up to 75% less fuel
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Environmental outreach and awareness-raising: UNEP and NEPA jointly organized the World Peace Day celebration on 22 September in Bamyan with over 50 community members, students, NGOs, UN and government agencies and the media participating in an awareness raising program on the importance of mountain ecosystems and environment for peace-building.
UNEP worked with the UN Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, within the framework of the “Greening the Blue initiative”, through the development of guidelines and posters promoting the environmental sustainability of UN operations in the country.
Environmental coordination and joint programming: Under the UNEP-UNDP-FAO SAISEM programme on environmental mainstreaming, a number of activities were carried out during the second half of 2011. An Environmental Mainstreaming Guideline for Afghanistan
in Dari was finalized and will be made available on the NEPA website which will come launched this spring at: www.nepa.gov.af
A series of meetings with the UNCT and the Resident Coordinator’s office took place aimed at building a better long-term collaborative effort to address environmental issues within the UN system. Environment as a cross-cutting strategy is clearly recognized by the UN Country Team and further cooperative assessment will be done in early 2012, looking in particular at peacebuilding and natural resources management, extractive industries and renewable resources.
More information available at: www.unep.org/afghanistan
Contact: Andrew Scanlon, Officer-in-Charge, UNEP Afghanistan Programme, PCDMB, at:[email protected]
Democratic Republic of the CongoThe UNEP country programme for DR Congo is a coordinated “One UNEP” set of projects and activities focused on a locally-endorsed set of defined environmental and natural resource management priorities. The UNEP team and its support office in Kinshasa serve major ongoing activities including the post-conflict environmental assessment (see also Post-Crisis Environmental Assessment section), the UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN REDD), and the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP).
With the release of UNEP’s DR Congo Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment report in October, UNEP and the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism have prepared an initial discussion note outlining the key components of UNEP’s follow-up country programme, planned over a seven to ten year timeframe. Discussions were also initiated with key development partners, the UN system and other stakeholders on the design of UNEP’s programme. In addition, UNEP participated in the preparatory process for the next UN Development Assistance Framework (2013-2017), including the working group on the environment.
UN-REDD: An important milestone was the launch of the DR Congo’s National Forest Monitoring System at a UNFCCC COP 17 side event in Durban in December. See: www.rdc-snsf.org
The web-based platform represents an important contribution to the Monitoring, Measurement, Reporting and Verification pillar of the DR Congo’s REDD+ programme by enabling greater transparency of forest
monitoring and national REDD initiatives. Draft social and environmental standards to assess REDD+ projects in the DR Congo, as well as maps representing the potential ecosystem-based benefits from REDD+ projects, will be integrated into the national forest system. The maps were prepared by UNEP’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre in collaboration with national institutions,
With half of Africa’s forests and water resources and trillion-dollar mineral reserves, the Democratic Republic of Congo could become a powerhouse of African development provided multiple pressures on its natural resources are urgently addressed
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In addition, UNEP and the DR Congo’s REDD National Coordination bureau organized a multi-stakeholder workshop in Kinshasa in November that brought together around 100 participants. The workshop provided training in applying scenario analysis techniques for developing a national ‘green vision’. Four storylines providing an outlook up to 2035 were prepared and subsequently presented during a side event organized at the Durban climate meeting in December.
Follow-up modeling work will be carried out by experts to quantify these scenarios and help build the case for using REDD + as the driver of a green economy pathway in the DR Congo. In view of its importance to promoting REDD+ objectives, a draft strategy note on the feasibility and costs of land tenure security and land use planning was also prepared by national partners in collaboration with Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) of France and UNEP.
A ‘High Level Forum on Forests and Climate Change for Sustainable Development in the DR Congo’ was held in Kinshasa on 10-11 October. This notable event, which gathered some 400 national and international participants, was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, with support from UNEP, UNDP, the World Bank and the European Union. The
strong level of political support for the REDD+ process in the DR Congo was underscored by the participation of five ministers and UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, who stressed the potential contribution of a green economy in creating jobs.
Great Apes Survival Partnership: As part of the ongoing Mayombe Transboundary Initiative involving the governments of Angola, Republic of the Congo and the DR Congo, UNEP in collaboration with IUCN prepared a series of preliminary technical studies to inform the development of a shared management plan for the Mayombe Forest.
Strategic issues examined in these studies include: (i) the legal framework; (ii) land rights and land use; (iii) the feasibility of establishing biological corridors linking the three countries, and (iv) the socio-economic and environmental potential of the Mayombe ecosystem. In addition, a draft transboundary management plan has been developed and circulated for review by IUCN expert group members.
More information available at: www.unep.org/drcongo
HaitiFollowing a restructure, the UNEP Haiti Country Programme now comprises three main elements: the Haiti Regeneration Initiative, the Transnational Programme and UNEP Representation. UNEP will continue to work as a member of the UN Country Team and support and participate in UN joint planning processes, as well as providing policy guidance to the Government of Haiti and liaising with senior officials.
UNEP’s base has also been relocated from Port-au-prince to Port Salut in the South Department, consistent with the Haitian government’s desire to decentralize support from the capital city to the provinces.
Haiti Regeneration Initiative: The HRI has four tightly interlinked components under varying levels of de-velopment. Haiti 2040 is aimed at creating a focused and nationally-owned sustainable development think tank.
Sustainable Development Solutions is promoting a range of web and network-based practical technologies, projects and approaches that have the potential for national coverage and lasting impact.
Launched in January 2011, the Côte Sud Initiative (CSI), is focusing on the South Department of Haiti and targeting a population of 700,000 inhabitants. The CSI is an integrated sustainable development initiative designed to grow and evolve over a 20-year period. Current CSI expenditure is in the order of USD 10 million per annum via five projects and a UNEP-coordinated partnership of 11 organizations, including the government.
The Port-a-Piment Millennium Village Project proposes a 10-year integrated development programme focused on the catchment of Port-a-Piment (30,000 inhabitants). Q3 and Q4 saw significant progress within the CSI, with the 11 organization partnership moving into larger scale implementation. A very wide range of field oriented and practical action activities were commenced, including agricultural field trials, anti-erosion and reforestation projects, social baseline surveys, solar household product marketing, distribution of improved charcoal stoves and installation of solar photovoltaic equipment at three health clinics.
Six additional organizations have been invited to join the CSI. Government engagement is gradually increasing following the establishment of the new national government.
The Organization for the Rehabilitation of the Environment, a local Haitian NGO, in partnership with the Earth Institute at Columbia University, launched a number of trials plots with a view to address chronic malnutrition and failing food production systems for communities
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This semester, efforts in Sustainable Development Solutions focused on renewable energy project development; UNEP is now partnering with the Government of Haiti, UNOPS and the USA National Laboratory for Renewable Energy (NREL) on a feasibility study for a large waste-to-energy plant on an existing landfill near Port-au-Prince.
The Transnational programme: The transnational programme covers the UNEP components of three ongoing transboundary, regional and global projects. The Frontera Verde initiative, launched in May 2011, aims to reforest the border area between Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the involvement of local community members in ‘reforestation brigades’.
The initiative brings together the environment ministries of both countries and is supported by the Government of Norway. It is being implemented by UNEP, UNDP and WFP. The UNEP component focuses on transboundary natural resource management and Q3 and Q4 activities focused on field data collection and consultation as the formative part of a major study and long term planning process. For further information, please see the Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding section.
More information available at: www.unep.org/haitiwww.haitiregeneration.org
Contacts: Andrew Morton, Coordinator, Haiti Regeneration Initiative, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
and Antonio Perera, Programme Manager, Haiti Country Programme, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
The Frontera Verde initiative aims to reforest the border area between Haiti (left) and Dominican Republic (right)
Within the scope of the UNEP-funded feasibility study for an industrial biodigester in Port-au-Prince, conducted in partnership with the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), UNOPS performed a 10-day waste sorting operation in the Truitier landfill in October 2011
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Republic of SudanIn July, UNEP reaffirmed its long-term commitment to assisting the people of the Republics of Sudan and South Sudan to maintain peace, recovery and development on an environmentally sustainable basis. In conjunction with its major Sudan donor, UKaid from the Department for International Development, the UNEP team realigned its plans for both countries.
In Sudan, UNEP will continue its focus on the strategic processes of policy reform – centred on Integrated Water Resource Management, climate change, livelihoods and pastoralism, forestry and energy – and on building partnerships with organizations implementing projects at the state and community level.
Water resource management: UNEP is supporting the Ministry of Water Resources in its implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). In December, Sudan’s Ministry of Water Resources took an important step in promoting the formation of a shared vision for water resource management by hosting a workshop in Khartoum.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 10 ministries as well as civil society, universities, the private sector and UNEP. At UNEP’s invitation, the Director of Water Resource Management at South Africa’s Water Research Commission, Ms Eiman Karar, also participated. It was the latest in a series of water resource management forums held in Sudan in late 2011. This
work coincided with the appointment of a new Minister of Water Resources, Dr Seif Eldin Hamad Abdalla, and a change in the mandate of the ministry, which reflected a growing emphasis on water resource management.
Resource management also continued to be an important issue for water programming in Darfur. In South Darfur, the state ministry kicked-off a new process of IWRM policy formulation, which will be led by an intergovernmental team of experts and will involve wide public consultation in the coming months.
A new water resources study for a piped water supply to the town of Kass was also launched in late 2011. UNEP is supporting the Groundwater and Wadis Department of the Ministry of Water Resources in this study and other projects to improve data management for water resources in Darfur in an effort to improve water security in the region.
In addition, 13 drought contingency plans for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps have been developed so far, targeting a total of population of 700,000 residents. Camp water resource fact sheets also prepared by UNEP were used by other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations in four IDP camps in North Darfur, to help guide the provision of sustainable water to the camps. Out of a total 200 wells to be monitored, including in Darfur, groundwater monitoring began at more than 100 wells, with 40 wells being monitored on a regular basis by the end of the year. Finally, six environmental screening reports for reservoir rehabilitation and construction sites were also completed.
In South Darfur in December, the state ministry commenced a new process of water resource management policy formulation
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Community environment management: The promotion of Community Environmental Action Planning (CEAPs) as a tool for Sudan’s efforts to rebuild and adapt systems of local natural resource management continued to make progress. Following induction meetings with government, work began on developing Community Action Plans in three of the seven villages in North Darfur participating in the first UNEP- Darfur Development and Reconstruction Agency (DRA) pilot project.
This community-based approach also began to be rolled out in South Darfur, with a government-led training held in October and December 2011. UNEP provided seed funding and trainers for the event, as well as technical support for the Forestry National Corporation. The training was attended by 27 participants from the Forestry National Corporation in several localities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, the Ministry of Health, the Groundwater and Wadis Directorate, national NGOs, and the Agricultural Research Station. The training was also the first step in a partnership between UNEP and the Forestry corporation which will continue into 2012.
Livelihoods: Work on the two main components under this theme, namely pastoralism and markets and trade, gained significant momentum in 2011. This work aims to improve national awareness, understanding, policies and programmes relating to pastoralist livelihoods, markets and trade. Key partners are Tufts University, USA, and DRA.
Important foundation reports to inform the work on pastoralism in Sudan were drafted and will be published in 2012. They are a Stakeholder Mapping and Analysis report, which document key actors as well as perceptions of pastoralism from across the country, and a review of
policy influencing pastoralists in Sudan. This work will contribute to improving monitoring and analysis of trade and markets in Darfur, to better understand the impact of the conflict on key commodities (cereals, livestock, cash crops and timber) and on livelihoods. It will help inform decision-making on how livelihoods, economic recovery and peacebuilding can be supported through trade.
A Pastoralism and Policy training course, including a Training of Trainers version, was adapted to the Sudan context. In November, a session to test the training was hosted by the Council for the Development of Nomads in Khartoum and attended by representatives from government, academia, NGOs and international agencies.
Another two quarterly bulletins on Trade and Markets in North Darfur, targeting industry associations, pastoralist peak bodies, State Government in North Darfur, NGOs and humanitarian community were released. The bulletins present the findings of regular weekly market monitoring of 15 markets across North Darfur State. This work is led by DRA and seven community-based organizations in conjunction with UNEP. The market monitoring bulletins were also widely disseminated to agencies and government, and have been referenced in new research in Darfur. Building on the success of the market monitoring work in North Darfur, funds have been leveraged from the European Commission to replicate this work in West Darfur. UNEP is providing mentoring, training and technical advice to this new network. By the end of 2011, the fieldwork for the first in-depth study of livestock trade in Darfur had been completed in Nyala, El Fasher and Geneina, as well as surrounding rural areas.
Climate change: UNEP is supporting Sudan’s Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources (HCENR) to implement a major climate change project aimed at preparing the country’s Second National Communication under the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change. Since the joint project began in early 2011, the Higher Council has established a project secretariat and identified a national technical team to oversee the detailed vulnerability and adaptation assessments which will form the foundation of Sudan’s National Adaptation Plan.
UNEP’s role has included capacity building, for example through supporting a workshop staged by the Higher Council in Khartoum in November. It attracted 60 participants and focused on practical training to enable the Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments to begin immediately at the state and locality level. By December, focal points in each of the 15 states and sectoral experts had commenced assisting with the data collection.
The UNEP Sudan team supported Sudan’s delegation at the Durban climate meeting through seconding its climate change focal point.
Environmental policy: A major scanning project by UNEP is tracking down a wealth of development studies conducted in Sudan since the 1950’s, to make them
freely available to anyone involved in natural resources management in Sudan. The studies are held in various countries and even in the homes of retired scientists in Sudan. By the end of December, UNEP had scanned some 687 documents and 1,578 maps held by the World Soils Archive and Catalogue at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.
Environmental mainstreaming: UNEP was heavily engaged in the Republic of Sudan Humanitarian Work Plan development process, The UNEP team in Sudan developed a new tool, the Environment Marker, aiming to assess the environmental impact of humanitarian projects. UNEP also provided guidance on environmental matters to UN and NGOs involved in the Humanitarian Work Plan. As a result of UNEP’s focus on environmental mainstreaming, 57% of all projects included in the work plan have integrated environmental components and/or environmental mitigation activities. UNEP’s contribution was widely appreciated and drew praise from the work plan coordinators for pioneering the mainstreaming of the environment in humanitarian programming.
UNEP’s Robert Neil Munro and Afaf Yousif scaning a document at our Khartoum office
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Republic of South SudanJuly 9, 2011, saw the birth of a new nation, and a new member state of the UN: the Republic of South Sudan.
UNEP’s immediate priorities in South Sudan are to provide further technical support for building national and UN Country team capacities in environmental governance, expand waste management initiatives and promote sustainability in the forestry sector. In the longer-term, UNEP is focusing its attention on forestry, solid waste management, natural resource management, protected area management and environmental impact assessments.
Environmental policy: Environmental considerations were included in all four pillars of the South Sudan Development Plan 2011-2013, a blueprint for the new country. This followed advocacy by UNEP during its participation in a Cross Cutting Issues Group set up by the Ministry of Finance. The environment, gender, youth and human rights were identified as cross-cutting issues by the government.
Environmental mainstreaming: The 2012 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for South Sudan, a collective UN humanitarian planning and fundraising tool, was developed during the semester. Having designed detailed environmental sector-specific guidelines and created an environmental marker to assess the environmental impact of humanitarian projects, UNEP was able to put environmental concerns at the forefront of this process. In addition, UNEP conducted training, providing 12 presentations to practitioners in the different sectors on how to use the environmental marker and mitigate the environmental impacts of on-ground humanitarian action.
Finally, with the preparation of the South Sudan Development Plan, the UN Country Team in South
Sudan needed to align the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) to the government’s priorities. UNEP was again an active participant in this review, advocating for environmental considerations to be fully integrated.
Waste management: Juba is among the world’s fastest growing cities. Yet this population growth has not been matched by waste management services and facilities which can meet the population’s needs. The Ministry of Environment, Juba City Council, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and UNEP are aiming to developing a landfill in Juba, for which there is now an overwhelming need. In response to requests from both Malakal and Wau City Councils for the establishment of solid waste management systems, UNEP sent an international expert to analyze the current conditions in both cities in November and December. In 2012, UNEP will present proposals designed to address the key issues in both cities, and develop work plans to address them.
Forestry: South Sudan’s forest resources include impressive stands of teak and mahogany. Through UNEP advocacy, there is growing understanding of the need to manage these resources more sustainably, given forests act as natural protection against extreme weather events and also present potential income sources, through UN-REDD and timber exports. Work on legislation in the timber trade in South Sudan saw progress on the enforcement of logging bans that is likely to take effect with the expected passage of the Forestry Bill, which UNEP helped the government to formulate.
For more information, please visit the new UNEP in South Sudan website: www.unep.org/southsudan
Contact: Robin Bovey, UNEP Programme Manager, South Sudan, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
UNEP is collaborating with a range of partners to improve waste management services and facilities in Juba, South Sudan
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Côte d’Ivoire hazardous waste management projectAs a follow-up to the joint UNEP-Basel Convention Secretariat hazardous waste management project in Côte d’Ivoire, the Secretariat for the Basel Convention conducted a training workshop in the capital, Abidjan, from 4-12 October.
The training, entitled Building Capacities for Chemical Substance and Hazardous Waste Management in Côte d’Ivoire, was aimed at building national capacity to monitor and control the transboundary movement of waste and chemicals. The Basel Convention Secretariat then ran the training in three additional francophone countries, namely Gabon, Madagascar and Morocco
in late 2011. In all three countries, the training process development included a legal and institutional gaps/needs analysis; the drafting of legislative or regulatory measures pursuant to the gaps and needs analysis; and a launch event and national consultation exercise to assist in the validation of the findings and the development of country-specific trainings to be delivered in 2012.
Events targeted participants from relevant government agencies and national stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and environmentally sound management of MARPOL wastes Conventions as well as other relevant international agreements. Training materials can be found here.
Sustainable building reconstruction in disaster-affected countriesUNEP also completed the final draft of updated guidelines for integrating sustainability measures into reconstruction efforts following disasters. In 2007, UNEP’s Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative published After the Tsunami: Sustainable Reconstruction Guidelines for South-East Asia. The new publication with a global focus, will provide more generic and widely applicable advice to reinforce sustainable building principles in reconstruction as a key to building back better. The aim is not only to
improve resilience to natural hazards in the future, but to encourage a shift to buildings and structures that are as energy efficient and climate-mitigating as possible.
Entitled Sustainable Building Reconstruction in Disaster Affected Countries, the updated guidelines will be distributed for pilot-testing to UN agencies involved in post-disaster reconstruction efforts so that any refinements can be made. The guidelines were developed in collaboration with the SKAT Foundation.
Residents in Port-au-Prince after the January 2010 earthquake inspect the site of a collapsed supermarket. The new guidelines will integrate sustainability measures into reconstruction efforts
Environmental Cooperation for PeacebuildingUnder its Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding (ECP) pillar, UNEP aims to use environmental cooperation to transform the risks of conflict over resources into opportunities for peace in war-torn societies. This includes assessing and integrating environment and natural resource issues within the peacebuilding policies and strategies of the United Nations, as well as using the shared management of natural resources as a platform for dialogue, cooperation and confidence-building within and between conflict-affected countries. UNEP believes that effectively addressing the environmental dimensions of conflict and peacebuilding can only be done in partnership with a wide range of international and national actors. As a result, UNEP has developed partnerships with a number of peace and security actors including the
UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, the UN Peacebuilding Support Office, the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support in New York and the European External Action Service in Brussels.
ContentsSahel study informs climate change response ...............20
First book in stunning new series..................................21
Capacity building in Sierra Leone .................................22
Haiti and the Dominican Republic assessment .............23
Improving mediation of natural resource conflicts ........23
New focus on women, natural resources and peacebuilding ..............................................................24
Decade of observance of International Day ..................24
Sahel study informs climate change responseOn December 5, a joint study entitled Livelihood Security: Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in the Sahel was launched at the 17th UN Climate Change Convention talks in Durban, South Africa. The Sahel, one of the most vulnerable regions in terms of climate change projections worldwide, is also facing massive population growth, pervasive poverty, food insecurity and chronic instability.
The study analyzes regional trends in temperature, rainfall, droughts and flooding over the past 40 years and
The study on climate change, migration and conflict in the Sahel analyzes climate change trends over the past 40 years in the region and its implications for the availability of natural resources, livelihoods, migration and conflict
their implications for the availability of natural resources, livelihoods, migration and conflict in 17 West African countries, from the Atlantic coast to Chad. It identifies “climate hotspots” – where changes in the regional climate have been the most severe – and provides recommendations for focused adaptation planning and follow-up activities in the area. Among its findings, the report indicates that the impacts of such changing climatic conditions on the availability of natural resources, combined with factors such as population growth and weak governance, have led to greater competition over scarce resources and to changing migration patterns in the region.
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First book in stunning new seriesThe first book in a seven volume series on post-conflict peacebuilding and natural resources management was launched in Washington, DC on 15 November 2011 by UNEP, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), the University of Tokyo and McGill University. Covering over 55 conflict-affected countries, the new book “High-Value Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding” represents one of the most comprehensive studies to date of the link between managing high-value natural resources, such as oil, diamonds, gold and timber and post-conflict peacebuilding.
This book, and overall research programme initiated by UNEP and the Environment Law Institute, answers an important call by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for a greater focus on the links between natural resources, conflict and peacebuilding. Overall, the four-year research programme will yield more than 150 peer-reviewed case studies and analyses by 230 scholars, practitioners, and decision makers from 50 countries.
Edited by Päivi Lujala and Siri Aas Rustad from the Peace Research Institute Oslo, the first volume gives insights into a variety of natural resource management
strategies, addressing the different steps of the natural resource value-chain, from extraction to distribution and spending revenues. It examines key challenges faced by post-conflict countries in peacefully and sustainably developing their natural resources, while avoiding new sources of grievance and major environmental
degradation. The book includes a foreword by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
The book aims to benefit national and local governments, extractive industries, civil society organizations, and the international community. It also provides invaluable lessons for the UN’s peace and security institutions, including the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the UN Peacebuilding Commission. The next book in the series, entitled “Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding”, will be published in early 2012. The final synthesis book, “Post-conflict peacebuilding and natural resources: The promise and the peril”, will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2012.
For ordering information: click here or visit the UN Bookshop at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Contact: David Jensen, Head, Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
The study aims to support regional decision-makers, adaptation and peace-building practitioners worldwide, as well as ongoing international climate change negotiations. It was conducted jointly by UNEP, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations University (UNU), the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), as well as the University of Salzburg’s Centre for Geoinformatics. .
The report and further information is available in English and French online here.
Contact: Dennis Hamro-Drotz, Asso-ciate Programme Officer, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
Areas most affected by changes in climate reflect areas which reveal a high dynamic (change) concerning one or several of the observed layers within the period under consideration. Pie charts represent the share of these integrated indicators per 'hotspot'.
Scale (main map): 1:12,000,000 for DIN A3 printsReference system: Geographic coordinates Datum: World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84)
Capacity building in Sierra LeoneIn Sierra Leone, UNEP continued to make progress in conjunction with its primary government partner, the Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone. UNEP helped the government to better monitor mining operations by facilitating and participating in regular aerial and land mine monitoring visits and providing technical input to extensive new environmental and social regulations for the mining sector which are due to come into force in early 2012. In addition, UNEP helped raise awareness of domestic and international environmental legal issues by drafting a study which reviewed Sierra Leone’s international obligations under the 32 Multilateral Environmental Agreements the country has signed and the extent to which they have been implemented. The study provided direct inputs to the country’s new National Environmental Action Plan, which, inter alia, lays out a plan to implement the remaining commitments. UNEP also helped to raise awareness and support for conservation by providing training on conflict-sensitive conservation management for terrestrial and marine protected areas.
In August 2011, UNEP and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) held a workshop to train Gola Forest guards and managers on conflict-sensitive conservation techniques. On 3 December 2011, the President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, officially opened Gola Rainforest National Park which became the country’s second national park. UNEP, in collaboration with key partners such as the UN Integrated Peacekeeping office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) and the World Food Programme (WFP), also assisted with the logistics for the opening. Finally, UNEP worked to raise the profile of environmental issues in Sierra Leone by developing a new country-specific website for Sierra Leone: www.unep.org/sierraleone and producing two videos on environmental issues for the websites of UNEP and the EPA-SL and for the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC).
More information available at: www.unep.org/sierraleone
Contact: David Jensen, Head, Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
On 3 December 2011, the President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, officially opened Gola Rainforest National Park which became the country’s second national park
Haiti and the Dominican Republic assessmentThe degraded state of the environment and the increasing depletion of natural resources along the border zone of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are widely recognized as important factors in increasing disaster vulnerability and fuelling tensions between the two countries. At the same time, the ecological interconnections between transboundary watersheds could represent an opportunity to enhance confidence-building and cooperation for natural resource management and sustainable development between the two countries.
UNEP has been requested to assess existing and potential sources of transboundary tensions over natural resources and determine opportunities for cooperation. During the second half of 2011, data collection and analysis for the assessment continued. Social and economic surveys by Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Haitian State University were completed in 224 households in 20 communities along the border. In addition, a UNEP team conducted a two week mission from 21 November to 2 December to both countries to gather additional information on key natural resource issues in the border zone and hold consultations with a wide range of national stakeholders. The outcomes of the assessment process will be contained in a report, due to be finalized in 2012.
Contact: Dennis Hamro-Drotz, Associate Programme Officer, Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding, at: [email protected]
Under the Frontera Verde project, UNEP’s Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding programme is focusing on issues and opportunities for transboundary cooperation over natural resources between the Dominican Republic and Haiti
Improving mediation of natural resource conflictsAs part of UNEP’s environmental diplomacy work and the UN-European Union (EU) partnership on natural resources and conflict, a joint project has been initiated with Columbia University’s Centre for International Conflict Resolution, and the UN Department of Political Affairs’ Mediation Support Unit. The project looks at best practice and tools in the mediation of natural resource conflicts. On 2-4 November, a workshop on the topic held near New York attracted 40 people from a variety of organizations. The participants were mainly senior mediators with extensive experience in mediating natural resource conflicts in developing countries and fragile states, as well as representatives from UNEP and other key UN agencies, including the Department of Political Affairs, Department of Field Support and Department for Peacekeeping Operations. The workshop explored the latest natural resource conflict mediation strategies, tactics and agreement models. It focused on reviewing mediation techniques
and solution models that have been successfully used in the field to generate agreements on natural resource conflicts as stand-alone accords and as part of broader political agreements. The workshop also discussed current natural resource conflict situations where the identified best practices can be tested in phase two of the initiative.
The collaboration will conclude with a publication aimed at improving both international and national approaches to natural resource mediation in fragile and conflict-affected states where natural resources are a source of both actual and/or potential conflict and cooperation. The main product will be a guidance document that contains best practices and lessons learned to be used by individuals and organizations engaged in mediation initiatives on the ground, as well as to inform an upcoming report on peace mediation by the UN Secretary-General.
Contact: David Jensen, Head, Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding, PCDMB, at: [email protected]
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New focus on women, natural resources and peacebuildingUNEP has established a new partnership with UN Women and the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) aimed at addressing the nexus between gender, natural resource management and peacebuilding. The objective is to raise awareness and influence decision makers to take into consideration the importance of gender roles and support women’s equal engagement in natural resource management in the context of peacebuilding, in order to achieve a more sustainable peace anchored in gender equality and sound management of natural resources.
This collaboration will culminate in a joint policy report exploring the linkages between women and natural resource management in the context of conflict and peacebuilding and identifying concrete tools and methodologies for taking these linkages into account in post-conflict country programming.
A one-day inception workshop was held in New York on 4 November 2011, bringing together programme staff from UNEP and UN Women with five external experts to discuss the report’s objectives, target audience, conceptual framework and methodology, based on a concept note and initial literature review developed by UNEP. The final report is expected to be finalized and released in early 2013.
Contact: Silja Halle, Programme Officer, UNEP Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, at:[email protected] A young woman farming gum arabic in Darfur
Decade of observance of International DayThe UN International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment During War and Armed Conflict draws attention to the fact that the environment continues to be among the casualties of warfare. Observed on 6 November annually since 2001, it highlights how damage to the environment in times of armed conflict and war impairs natural resources long after the period of conflict.
In the Secretary-General’s statement, which UNEP helped to prepare, Mr Ban Ki-moon said that strengthening national capacity for transparent, equitable and sustainable management of natural resources will continue to be an important part of peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
“As we mark this International Day, let us recognize the wide-ranging and long-term consequences of damaging
the environment – both in peace and times of war. And let us reaffirm our commitment to the sustainable management of natural resources as a critical element of durable peace and security,” the Secretary-General’s statement read.
Among the events held to mark the occasion, UNEP participated in a conference in the Hague organized by the T.M.C. Asser Institute, the Hague Initiative for Law and Armed Conflict, the Amsterdam Centre for International Law and the Netherlands Red Cross,. Entitled Protection of the Environment in Armed Conflict: Testing the Adequacy of International Law, the event promoted understanding of the role of international organizations and civil society in addressing the environmental consequences of war.
More information available at: http://www.un.org/en/events/environmentconflictday/
Disaster Risk ReductionThe disaster risk reduction (DRR) pillar of UNEP’s Disasters and Conflicts programme focuses on countries that have been identified as vulnerable to natural hazards, and on human-made disaster events with an environmental component. As well as producing environmental risk assessments, UNEP seeks to strengthen the hand of Member States for environmental management through developing responsive strategies, building capacity and implementing pilot projects to reduce identified risks, thereby contributing to long-term disaster risk reduction. UNEP also contributes to global policy development by producing policy toolkits and training modules that demonstrate good practices and lessons learned in reducing
Forum marked 25 years of APELL
To mark 25 years of UNEP’s Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level (APELL) programme, a global forum took place in Beijing, China, in November. The event was staged in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China and China’s Renmin University. It attracted over 170 participants, including representatives from 17 countries, international and regional organizations, academia and civil society, as well as Chinese participants from 28 environmental emergency management agencies, chemical companies and mining groups. The Chinese State Administration of Work Safety and fire departments of the Ministry of Public Security were also represented.
During the opening ceremony, UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said that UNEP and the Ministry of Environmental Protection have a long history of cooperation, with the APELL programme being one of its outstanding examples. Mr Steiner also pointed out that UNEP will continue to support China in the development of environmental emergency management, strengthen the international academic exchange and cooperation as well as improve capabilities in emergency prevention and preparedness.
During the event, UNEP signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with Renmin University for cooperation on topics related to APELL, environmental emergency management and chemical accident prevention and preparedness systems in Chinese public institutions. Renmin University will also develop a research study on public participation and risk communication regimes
ContentsForum marked 25 years of APELL .................................25
Training in India ..........................................................26
Training of Trainers in Bangkok ....................................26
RiVAMP workshop in Jamaica ......................................27
Masters course under development ..............................27
Priorities set for global partnership ...............................28
risks, and provides environmental data and expertise on sustainable management of shared natural resources.
in China related to industrial accident prevention and preparedness, to be jointly published in 2012 as a UNEP-Remin University partner publication.
In addition, as a result of the forum, the University of Bahia Blanca in Argentina and Tsinghua University in China are to become new APELL Research Centres.
Contact: Ruth Coutto, Programme Officer, Building Capacity for Industrial Risk Reduction at: [email protected]
During the Global APELL Anniversary Forum’s opening ceremony, UNEP’s Executive Director, stressed the essential role played by the Chinese Government in promoting sustainable development and global cooperation for a green economy
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India Training on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk ReductionUNEP together with the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR) delivered a National Training Course on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) for the Government of India, in New Delhi on 12-16 December 2011. Attended by 19 national and state-level government specialists and project implementers, the training was delivered in collaboration with India’s National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), which hosted the event.
Following up on the training, the Government of India decided to take several initiatives such as the publication of case studies on ecosystem-based DRR initiatives from around the country; the delivery of Training of Trainers package at the state-level; and the development of Guidelines on Ecosystem-based DRR tailored for India.
The Training Course is the latest knowledge product developed by UNEP and PEDRR partners. Since the official launch of the Training Course at the Global Platform and the first national training in Sri Lanka in
May 2011, PEDRR has received training requests from the governments of India, Uganda, Georgia/Armenia/Azerbaidjan, Philippines, Afghanistan, amongst others. The training enhances government capacities to undertake more sustainable and resilient development planning. It increases awareness of ecosystem management solutions for DRR and adaptation to climate change impacts, develops practical skills on applying ecosystem-based DRR, and facilitates cross-sectoral collaboration for more integrated, cost-effective outcomes.
The course targets government officials as well as national disaster management institutions and major public training institutions. Key thematic sessions include environment and disaster linkages; ecosystem management tools for DRR; linkages with Ecosystem-based Climate Change Adaptation; mainstreaming Eco-DRR in Recovery and Reconstruction. The outcome of the Training Course is an Agenda for Action developed by participants themselves to take forward and implement as part of their work programmes and plans.
More information available at: www.pedrr.net or see the video presentation.
Inaugural Training of Trainers session held in BangkokBased on the National Training Course on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR), a Training of Trainers package has also been developed to encourage a multiplier effect in disseminating the course information. It was delivered for the first time in Bangkok, Thailand, in December 2011, hosted by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, a PEDRR member.
National institutes with the capacity to replicate the training in their home countries were targeted. Sixteen trainers from seven countries and senior staff from national and regional organizations took part. Among the organizations represented were the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network, the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat. In particular, the Training of Trainers generated strong interest from Vietnam, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Pakistan, Cambodia. All of these countries are planning disaster risk reduction training in 2012 and intend to incorporate Eco-DRR sessions.
A Training of Trainers session was delivered for the first time in Bangkok in December 2011
Support for Disaster Risk Reduction in JamaicaFollowing a request from the Government of Jamaica, UNEP/GRID joined with the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in December to stage practical training in the use of science to show the role of coral reefs and sea grasses in reducing the impacts of natural hazards.
More than 20 government officials and academics took part in the week-long workshop in Kingston. The training included the use of remote sensing, GIS, statistical analysis and hydrodynamic modelling techniques to classify environmental features and estimate the potential exposure of coastal communities to rising seas and other coastal storms.
It was the latest step in a global initiative called the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Methodology Development Project (RiVAMP) which targets Small Island Developing States and other coastal areas that are highly vulnerable to tropical cyclones, related hazards and accelerated sea level rise. A joint initiative between UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch and GRID in Geneva, RiVAMP is assisting national and local governments to effectively evaluate their development options by quantifying the role of ecosystems in reducing risk and adapting to climate change impacts.
The technical training was complemented by a half-day awareness-raising event, co-hosted by UNEP’s Caribbean Environment Programme and the Planning Institute of Jamaica. Keynote speakers included the Director General of PIOJ and the Principal Director of the Land Administration and Management Division of the Ministry of Housing, Environment, Water and Local Government. The event aimed to promote understanding among policy makers of the role of ecosystems in disaster reduction and climate change adaptation and the benefits of the long-term application of RiVAMP in Jamaica.
UNEP pilot tested RiVAMP in Jamaica in 2009-10 in collaboration with the government and the University of the West Indies. The RiVAMP pilot results are contained in a report, Linking ecosystems to risk and vulnerability reduction: The case of Jamaica, available here.
Contact: Marisol Estrella, DRR Project Coordinator, UNEP Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, at: [email protected]
or Pascal Peduzzi, Head of the Global Change and Vulnerability Unit, UNEP/DEWA/GRID-Europe at: [email protected]
Training held in Kingston, Jamaica, helped build capacity for applying the RiVAMP methodology in other parts of Jamaica and the Caribbean
Masters degree under developmentTo influence future generations of policy and decision makers, UNEP and its PEDRR partners are working with the University of Cologne and its global network of universities to develop a University Master of Science Elective Course on Environment and Disaster Risk
Reduction. The elective course will comprise course lectures, facilitate access to PEDRR experts and field projects, and provide study materials.
A Training of Trainers package will be also developed in parallel to train lead faculty members from the selected universities on the course, with the first training workshop scheduled for July 2012.
Priorities set for global partnershipUNEP participated in the biennial retreat of the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction, held in October in Strasbourg, France, hosted by the Council of Europe (a PEDRR member). PEDRR is a growing global alliance of 14 members, comprising UN agencies, international and regional NGOs as well as specialist institutes that pool together expertise and resources in order to advocate for ecosystem management solutions in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and sustainable livelihoods.
The retreat reflected on PEDRR’s achievements in 2009-10, welcomed new members and chartered its plan of action for 2011-12. Top priorities include undertaking economic valuation of ecosystem-based disaster risk
reduction, rolling-out training and participating in forthcoming international events such as the International Disaster Reduction Conference hosted by the Global Risk Forum in August 2012 and the IUCN World Conservation Congress in October 2012.
UNEP is also working on a forthcoming book on the role of ecosystems in disaster risk reduction with the UN University and the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management. Due to be published in late 2012, the book will provide state-of-the-art knowledge and practice on ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, pulling together current scientific research as well as practitioners’ experiences.
Contact: Marisol Estrella, DRR Project Coordinator, UNEP Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, at: [email protected]
PEDRR partners combine their expertise to advocate for ecosystem management solutions in reducing the risk of disasters
The Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC)UNEP hosts the core secretariat of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), an inter-agency initiative of international organizations comprising UNEP, UNDP, the Organization for Security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (REC). The ENVSEC partnership aims to reduce tensions and increase cooperation through the joint management of natural resources and environmental threats in Eastern Europe, South Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus and Central Asia.
ContentsAmu Darya Basin report released .................................29
ENVSEC helps Belarus and Ukraine cope with flood risks ............................................................30
Planning for transboundary protected area in South Eastern Europe ...............................................30
Improving mining site management in Armenia ............30
Fire management in the South Caucasus .......................30
Ecological issues are discussed during Dniester River Basin press tour ...........................................................32
Amu Darya Basin report releasedBoosting cooperation between countries sharing the waters of the Amu Darya, Central Asia’s longest river, could be vital to future peace and security in the region, according to a new report released in July. Prepared by UNEP on behalf of the ENVSEC partners, Environment and Security in the Amu Darya Basin points out that water resources in the region are impacted by decades of often unsustainable development dating back to the era of the Soviet Union.
Large-scale engineering projects, such as those in the Aral Sea, dammed and diverted substantial flows from the Amu Darya river basin into activities such as cotton, wheat and fodder farming in arid and desert regions, degrading land and damaging soils. The Aral Sea, which relies in part on water from the Amu Darya, remains severely degraded with the report’s estimates indicating that “the volume and surface area of the sea have now decreased tenfold”.
Human health impacts due to declining water quality are also reflected in the increased incidence of kidney, thyroid and liver disease. In addition, glacier loss which began in the latter part of the 20th century, continues with many large glaciers having retreated by several hundred metres and hundreds of small glaciers having vanished altogether.
The study also found that climate change-induced shifting weather patterns are emerging as major natural resource challenges for the four main nations
concerned—Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The report acknowledges that governments in the region are starting to move on many of the challenges but that a great deal more can be achieved to promote cooperative sustainable development and reduce tensions over finite natural resources.
The recommendations include:
� A good first step would be for relevant nations to ratify the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, which would serve the objective of establishing a legal framework and accountability for the collective management of the Amu Darya basin’s resources;
� Greater exchange of information between countries on proposed transboundary projects that may impact the Amu Darya as one important mechanism for building trust and promoting cooperation;
� Countries in the region should consider burden sharing of maintaining water infrastructure while also promoting water efficiency measures and technologies; and
� Modernization of regional energy systems and electricity grids should continue which, backed by improved energy efficiency and the development of alternative energy sources, could reduce the need for increased hydropower projects.
The report is available in English and Russian on the ENVSEC website: www.envsec.org
Environment and Security in the Amu Darya basin
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UNEP Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
ENVSEC helps Belarus and Ukraine cope with flood risksA third hydro-meteorological station was set up in Belarus in early December as part of a project to introduce computerized flood monitoring in the Pripyat River Basin, including the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The monitoring stations – two in Ukraine and one in Belarus – will provide real-time automatic flood data, replacing manual monitoring. This is welcome news for local communities and farmers in the Pripyat River Basin within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and on the border between Belarus and Ukraine.
The region is prone to severe flooding, and along with it, increased levels of radioactive pollution. The Styr River, an eastern tributary, provides the Rivne nuclear power station with cooling water, making monitoring for quality and temperature vital. The project aims to create seven monitoring stations by the end of 2012. Data from the three existing stations is available on-line here.
The real-time monitoring system will make the data available globally and almost instantly, enabling better preparations for floods and determining ways of limiting the damage they cause
Planning for transboundary protected area in South Eastern EuropeThe first trilateral stakeholder meeting in the proposed transboundary mountain protected area “Sharr/Šar Planina – Mt. Korab – Dešat/Deshat” took place on 21-22 November 2011 in Popova Shapka, FYR Macedonia. The meeting, organized by UNEP in cooperation with
the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of the F.Y.R. Macedonia and a local NGO, saw the participation of almost 40 representatives from the proposed ’Sharr/Šar Planina - Mt. Korab - Dešat/Deshat’ transboundary protected area, namely Albania, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Kosovo (UNSC Res. 1244/99), and Montenegro. This meeting helped to catalyze local partnerships and to establish common nature conservation and local development priorities for transboundary cooperation.
Improving mining site management in ArmeniaAs part of the ENVSEC project jointly implemented by the OSCE and UNEP on “Strengthening capacity in environmental assessment and risk reduction at mining sites in Armenia”, a delegation of Armenian officials
participated in a study tour to Albania and Montenegro from 12-16 June to look at best mining practices in these countries. The delegation, composed of government and NGO representatives, visited the Albanian mines of Rreshen and Reps and the Montenegronian mines of Mojkovac, Zuta Prla and Suplija Stena. Local experts shared their experience on remediation and stabilization of the mine tailings and on waste disposal technologies.
Fire management in the South CaucasusWithin the framework of the project “Enhancing National Capacity on Fire Management and Wildfire Disaster Risk
Reduction in the South Caucasus”, ENVSEC supported Armenia in fighting forest fires, through wildfires risk assessment and the development and implementation of national fire management policies. In addition, an ENVSEC-supported roundtable meeting was organized by OSCE, UNDP and the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations
in Yerevan, Armenia on 14 September. During the event, which brought together around 100 representatives from state institutions, local government bodies, civil society and the international community, participants discussed issues affecting forest and wildland fires in Armenia, achievements in forest and fire protection, development
of emergency response capabilities and legislation, and regional and international co-operation. The discussion followed a two-day course and practical exercise held in Syunik, southern Armenia, to train around 50 local fire brigade representatives in international best practices and modern techniques for forest fire management.
Around 50 local fire brigade representatives from Armenia were trained in international best practices and modern techniques for forest fire management
Regional climate change impacts examined in the South CaucasusThe ENVSEC Initiative published a Regional Climate Change Impact Study for the Caucasus Region in November 2011. The study involves Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and covers four areas: recent historical and projected climate change impacts; climate change impacts on transboundary river basins and water resources; impacts on crops, water and irrigation requirements in critical agricultural areas; and the
effects of climate change on urban heat stress in selected cities.
A key finding of the study shows that changes in climate are already evident in the South Caucasus. It indicates that water supply will likely decrease in important transboundary river basins, affecting agriculture, and that urban heat could also jeopardize the health of local communities. This study provides a basis for enhancing regional cooperation to address common climate change concerns threatening sustainable development and security in the region.
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UNEP Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
Danube Delta surveyThe governments of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine completed their first tri-national survey of the Danube Delta to improve river basin monitoring and cooperation. In September and October, 23 researchers analyzed water samples from the Prut River and other tributaries, and also screened chemical and biological samples
for pollutants and hazardous substances listed under the European Union Water Framework Directive. will be used to develop a management plan In addition to contributing to confidence-building in the tension-loaded transboundary area of the Lower Danube, results from the survey will provide new data for a joint environmental analysis in support of future integrated management for the Danube River Basin.
Dniester River Basin press tour In July, a press tour and associated environmental training targeted more than 20 journalists from Ukraine and Moldova. With the theme, “Ecological issues in the Dniester basin and ways to solve them: the role of preventive ecological journalism”, the six-day event involved site visits in Kalush, Novodnestrovsk and Chernovtsy in Ukraine. The tour and training was part
of an ENVSEC partnership effort to raise environmental awareness in the region, including in the Transnistrian conflict area, and promote better regional information exchange.
More information available at: www.envsec.org
Contact: Laura Rio, Senior Programme Manager, Environment and Security Initiative, at: [email protected]
Journalists from Ukraine and Moldova took part in an environmental awareness raising tour in the shared Dniester River Basin
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Biannual Progress Report / July – December 2011
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
Publications – recent releases
For more information on UNEP’s Disasters and Conflicts Sub-programme, please contact:
United Nations Environment Programme Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch International Environment House 15 chemin des Anémones CH-1219 Châtelaine, Geneva Switzerland
Or:
Tel.: +41 (0)22 917 8530 Fax: +41 (0)22 917 8064
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts www.envsec.org
Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland
A landmark field assessment of the environmental and public health impacts of oil contamination in Ogoniland, Nigeria, and options for remediation.
Launched: August 2011, Abuja
Information available here
Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland
United Nations Environment Programme
High-Value Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
Released: November 2011
Available for purchase only until mid 2012.
Information available here
Rwanda: From Post-Conflict to Environmentally Sustainable Development
Launched: November 2011, Kigali
Information available here
Livelihood Security: Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in the Sahel
A joint study of 17 countries in the Sahel which analyzes climate trends and determines implications for livelihoods.
Launched: December 2011, Durban
Information available here
The Democratic Republic of the Congo Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment: Synthesis for Policy Makers
Launched: October 2011, Abuja
Information available here
United Nations Environment Programme
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