4 Disasters and Conflicts www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts Afghanistan UNEP Afghanistan Launches Eco-DRR Course in Kabul Afghanistan In an effort to raise awareness and develop local capacity in Afghanistan on Eco-System Based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR), UNEP and the government of Afghanistan held a national training workshop in May 2013 with participants from key organizations and institutions focusing on the environment and DRR. The first two-day part of the workshop, held in Kabul, included 35 participants from governmental and non- governmental organizations such as the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority. Representatives from Kabul University and other academic institutions also attended. The second two-day component – that highlighted the importance of ecosystem-based approaches in DRR – involved over 50 community representatives and took place in the Koh-e-Baba Mountains in Bamyan Province. “All government entities and partner organizations need to work together to protect our communities from environmental disasters,” said NEPA Director General Mostapha Zaher. “This is particularly relevant in Afghanistan – one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change.” Environment and disasters interact with each other in a number of ways. Disasters can cause massive damage to the environment, while degraded environments – and climate change – exacerbate disaster impacts. In Afghanistan, communities are particularly vulnerable to disaster risk due to multiple natural hazards, poverty and a significant reliance on natural resources such as land, water and minerals. 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. Band-e Mere National Park. The park consists of six sapphire-blue lakes, and became Afghanistan’s first national park in April 2009
Transcript
4
Disasters and Conflicts
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
AfghanistanUNEP Afghanistan Launches Eco-DRR Course in Kabul Afghanistan
In an effort to raise awareness and develop local capacity in Afghanistan on Eco-System Based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR), UNEP and the government of Afghanistan held a national training workshop in May 2013 with participants from key organizations and institutions focusing on the environment and DRR.
The first two-day part of the workshop, held in Kabul, included 35 participants from governmental and non-governmental organizations such as the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority. Representatives from Kabul University and other academic institutions also attended.
The second two-day component – that highlighted the importance of ecosystem-based approaches in DRR – involved over 50 community representatives and took place in the Koh-e-Baba Mountains in Bamyan Province.
“All government entities and partner organizations need to work together to protect our communities from environmental disasters,” said NEPA Director General Mostapha Zaher. “This is particularly relevant in Afghanistan – one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change.”
Environment and disasters interact with each other in a number of ways. Disasters can cause massive damage to the environment, while degraded environments – and climate change – exacerbate disaster impacts. In Afghanistan, communities are particularly vulnerable to disaster risk due to multiple natural hazards, poverty and a significant reliance on natural resources such as land, water and minerals.
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.
Band-e Mere National Park. The park consists of six sapphire-blue lakes, and became Afghanistan’s first national park in April 2009
5
January – June 2013
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
UN Country Team Report: Conserving the natural environment can help to bring peace to Afghanistan
Natural resources such as land, water, forests and minerals trigger and fuel conflict in Afghanistan, but sustainable and equitable management of these natural resources can contribute to peacebuilding in this landlocked nation, according to a United Nations study released in June.
The report, ‘Natural Resource Management and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan,’ describes how the United Nations and the wider international community can assist the Government of Afghanistan to improve the management of natural resources in a way that contributes to peace and development on a national scale. Funded by the European Union (EU), the study also aims to encourage international organisations to introduce mechanisms into their projects to ensure that they do not inadvertently exacerbate conflict over natural resources.
“Effective management of natural resources will help build peace in Afghanistan, and therefore development work and investment in all natural resource sectors must be managed carefully,” said Mark Bowden, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and a Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). “Disputes in Afghanistan over natural resources can aggravate existing ethnic, political and regional divisions.”
Good management of the environment can support sustainable and lasting peace. However, natural resources – and the control of these resources – contribute to
underlying tension and violent conflict in Afghanistan in several ways, according to the report.
The report notes that the international community can play multiple roles in improving the management of natural resources in Afghanistan such as: building capacity to help implement management structures and laws relating to natural resources; supporting regional and community-level dispute resolution processes; improving data collection to enable early warning alerts when risks are detected; providing funding for conflict resolution that takes and environmental approach; and making environmental assessments and conflict-sensitive approaches a standard component of all development projects.
World Environment Day (WED) – Sustainable Development & Eco-Friendly Technologies
In Afghanistan an event within the context of WED was organised between 6-9 June 2013, which was the setting for private sector and governmental discussions on sustainable development in Afghanistan. Senior advisors from several ministries discussed efforts to develop eco-friendly technologies, including recycling. The goal is to develop and implement policies that are in conjunction with the country’s environmental laws. The private sector was represented by the Alba Group from Germany and Afghan company Osmani Group, both of which have agreed to collaborate on such efforts.
Natural Resource Management and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan report and accompanying detailed map
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
This map, and the report it summarises, was developed in close collaboration with the Natural Resources Contact Group of the UN in Afghanistan and produced at the request of the UN Country Team. It was delivered jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding initiative and the Afghanistan Country Programme in partnership with the EU-UN Global Partnership on Land, Natural Resources and Conflict with funding from the EU’s Instrument for Stability.
Water dams
Oil and gas
Minerals and metals
Gem stones
Poppy f ields
Sparse vegetation
Rangeland and dry farming
Degenerated forest
Closed forest
Pistachio
Juniper
Potentially irrigated areas
Rivers and lakes
Major roads
Proposed TAPIgasline
Provincial capitals
Capital
Natural Resource Management and Peacebuilding in AfghanistanAfghanistan’s precious natural resources – its land, water, forests and mineral deposits – are critical to the country’s prospects for a peaceful and prosperous future. However, the management of natural resources can also influence conflict in Afghanistan. Natural resources are scarce resources that communities fight over, instruments of coercion used to exert control, and a source of illicit revenues that sustains corruption and the war economy and provides incentives for peace spoilers.
In essence effective natural resource management (NRM) is a form of conflict prevention, bringing order and predictability to situations where otherwise competition is rife. This map is by no means comprehensive but illustrates some of the ways natural resource management impacts peacebuilding in Afghanistan.
Water is the second most commonly reported source of local conflict in Afghanistan. The availability of irrigation water is the key to most Afghans’ food security and livelihoods. Climate change, environmental degradation, inadequate management and increased demand are compounding water insecurity and driving conflict at the local level.
Afghanistan is renovating old coal and gas sites, and hoping to develop new oil and gas wells. Its location also makes it a strategic transit route for natural gas: in 2008 a framework agreement was signed to construct the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline to export gas from Central Asia to South Asia with potentially far-reaching geopolitical implications.
Forest products (firewood, construction materials, animal fodder and tree crops) contribute to the livelihoods of millions; meanwhile forests provide critical services such as reducing soil erosion, land degradation and landslides. The past 30 years have seen widespread destruction of previously valuable tree species.
Land is the number one cited driver of local conflict in Afghanistan. The land tenure system is governed by a weak patchwork of institutions. The amount of productive land is limited and faces rapid population growth, refugee return, and environmental degradation. Competition for land is increasing in both rural and urban areas.
Afghanistan produces 90% of the world’s opium and is also a leading hashish producer. The drug trade has become one of the main pillars of the Afghan economy accounting for 16% of GDP and involving 5% of the population. It is also intrinsically linked to insecurity: generating revenues that pay the operational expenses of insurgents (an estimated $155 million for the Taliban in 2009) and incentivising poor governance.
Afghanistan is the source of several major regional rivers flowing into water-scarce neighbouring countries. Afghan water infrastructure projects have produced strong diplomatic protests from neighbouring countries. As Afghanistan invests in new irrigation schemes and dam infrastructure, cooperative planning and management will be integral to avoiding regional tensions.
Insecurity, endemic corruption and weak management allow land grabbing by powerful elites in many parts of Afghanistan. The economic and political marginalisation that this leads to is a significant cause of conflict.
There is a history of mining revenues in Afghanistan funding local warlords and armed groups. The former leader of the Northern Alliance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, reportedly funded his anti-Soviet campaign in the Panjshir valley in the 1980s by imposing a tax on the mining of emeralds and lapis lazuli.
Afghanistan’s eastern forests have become the source of a lucrative criminal network smuggling high-value cedar wood to Pakistan and beyond, contributing to the region’s insecurity.
AAffghghanistan is the source oanistan is the source off severaseverall ma majjor reor reggionaionall rivers riversflowing into water-scarce flowing into water-scarce neighbouring countries. neighbouring countries. AfAfghghan water infrastructuran water infrastructure e prprojojecectsts hhavavee prprododucuceded
Afghanistan’s underground resources, valued between $1and $3 trillion dollars, include gemstones, uranium, precious metals, gas, oil and coal. Extractives can generate jobs, earn revenue and fund infrastructure. However, rich mineral resources can also be a curse that breeds violent conflict,
corruption, and bad governance, stunts economic growth and causes new environmental and social problems.
6
Disasters and Conflicts
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DR Congo)Innovative Watershed Management in Lukaya River Basin
The Lukaya river basin in the DR Congo – an area of approx. 350km2 from the periphery of Kinshasa to the adjoining Bas-Congo province - is today the site of an innovative UNEP initiative to apply catchment management for the first time in the country.
Inception meetings were organised in collaboration with the Environment Ministry and the Lukaya river basin association (AUBR/L) in both the lower and upper parts of the catchment in March and April 2013. These initial consultations sought to raise awareness on the objectives of catchment management and its linkages with ecosystems and disaster risk reduction (DRR) as well as invite feedback and inputs on priority areas for project intervention. The idea of applying catchment scale management to better coordinate land and water activities and deal with disaster events such as floods was enthusiastically received by local actors, key national institutions and international partners. These included inter alia the National Committee for Water and Sanitation (CNAEA, Ministry of Planning), the public water utility (REGIDESO), meteorological authority (METTELSAT) and the regional forestry institute (UNESCO/ERAFIT).
As a first step towards elaborating a common development vision for the Lukaya watershed, UNEP, in collaboration with a national NGO - the Réseau Ressources Naturelles (RRN) - organised hands-on participatory mapping
workshops with local communities. The exercise - which extended over a period of four weeks in April/May and involved in total some 90 participants - led to the development of two participatory 3-dimensional models (PDM) for the upper and lower parts of the basin. Combining Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies with local field knowledge to develop 3-dimensional models has proved to be a highly powerful decision support and communication tool in addition to its role in helping forge a sense of ‘river basin solidarity’. As this is the first time spatial participatory maps are developed in the DR Congo, four participants from government and NGOs were also trained on PDM methodology to build in-country capacity for replication in other projects. The training kits were provided courtesy of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), an international ACP/EU institute based in The Netherlands which is spearheading cutting-edge work on participatory spatial mapping.
Supplying Safe Drinking Water to the DR Congo’s Rural Communities
With the collapse of the DR Congo’s rural drinking water supply services as a result of years of turmoil and crumbling infrastructure, it is estimated today that 80 per cent of the DR Congo’s rural population - or some 37 million people - do not have access to safe drinking water. With thousands of people dying each year from water-borne diseases, the Ministry of Health, with donor and UNICEF support, initiated the ‘Healthy Villages and Schools’ national programme in 2006 to provide potable water to the thousands of rural communities spread out through this vast country.
UNEP experts collecting drinking water samples in the Katanga copperbelt where the risk of heavy metal contamination from mining pollution is high
7
January – June 2013
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
Having successfully attained 3,000 villages in early 2013 and encouraged by the positive results, the government and its partners are undertaking a major scale-up of the ‘Healthy Villages’ programme. A total of US$ 250 million has been earmarked for the programme’s second phase, which aims to build basic water systems in 9,000 villages servicing an estimated 9-10 million people by 2018. In collaboration with UNICEF, UNEP deployed a technical team that included experts from the Swiss Spiez Laboratory and the India Institute of Technology to test drinking water quality and identify potential sources of contamination. UNEP experts visited high risk areas including the Katanga Copperbelt mining region and the epicentre of the cholera outbreak where they conducted on-site water quality testing as well as shipped samples to Switzerland for detailed laboratory analysis.
Building Congolese Capacity to Develop and Implement Environmental Law
In July 2011, the DR Congo’s parliament passed the country’s first environmental law. While this landmark legislation sets out the generic principles governing environmental management, its on-the-ground application hinges on the development of subsidiary regulations. The enforcement of the DR Congo’s environmental law covers a wide range of sectors and themes, including public participation, information access to waste management and water and air quality standards.
Upon the request of the Ministry of the Environment of the Government of the DR Congo, UNEP is assisting in the cre-ation of a resourceful environmental library. The overarching goal of the library will be to improve the knowledge base concerning natural resources, environmental governance, the environment and other related topics of legal actors in the DR Congo. A training course was also conducted from 20 May-7 June 2013 in partnership with UNITAR focusing on the regulations of each of the 24 decrees and bylaws.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)
The DR Congo has been a pioneer of the REDD+ process and a key advocate for reducing deforestation within the country and throughout the Congo Basin Forest region. One of the first countries to launch a REDD+ Strategy at the UNFCCC COP in Doha, the DR Congo will start PHASE II of REDD+ this year culminating in 2016. The platform will incorporate pilot activities, data collection, programmatic planning, and an initial investment phase.
The DR Congo is undertaking a range of key and innovative activities to further the development of REDD+ in the country. This will be comprised of a highly developed Safeguards Information System, and the finalization of modeling for a sustainable development and green economy as linked to the REDD+ Strategy.
GRASP supports the Mayombe Transboundary Collaboration
In efforts to maintain and restore the integrity of the Mayombe ecosystem, a protected transboundary plan has
been initiated. Financially supported by Norway, the plan intends to conserve biodiversity, promote regional stability, and improve human livelihood. UNEP and IUCN are working with Angola, Congo and the DR Congo to create a transboundary dialogue and to establish a transboundary protected area in the Mayombe landscape. Several baseline studies were initiated to improve knowledge of the political, socioeconomic and environmental context in the three countries that share the forest landscape. Results from these technical studies were reduced to a Transboundary Strategic Plan, and the plan was validated by experts from the three countries and from the IUCN expert commissions in January 2012 in Luanda, Angola. Most recently, in February 2013 the Ministers of forestry met in Kinshasa, the DR Congo and welcomed Gabon to join the initiative.
GRASP supports Monitoring & Law Enforcement in the DR Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park
GRASP, with funding from the Spanish Ministry of Environment and through the Spain-UNEP partnership for Protected Areas in support of LifeWeb, has been supporting a programme in support of health, law enforcement and conflict resolution in Kahuzi-Biega National Park located in the Eastern DR Congo. Kahuzi-Biega is a World Heritage Site famous for its population of Eastern Lowland Gorillas and elephants . However, years of instability and insecurity have reduced the population of gorillas to half, and elephants to only an estimated 10% of its original population.
The project has successfully developed and implemented a conflict resolution strategy. Active support to the park authorities has helped park managers resolve a number of conflicts, including the voluntary relocation of illegal settlers in an ecologically important corridor area, and significantly reduce illegal activities inside the corridor by 40%. Park rangers were also trained in health monitoring, a component which aims to improve the health of the human population as well as the gorillas.
HaitiHaiti & Dominican Republic to jointly counter environmental degradation and boost food security in border zone following UNEP report
Countering environmental degradation across the Haitian-Dominican Republic border in order to boost food security was agreed on World Environment Day by the Minister of Environment of Haiti, Jean François Thomas, and the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of the Dominican Republic, Bautista Rojas Gómez.
The announcement followed the release of a landmark study on the strategic area by the Governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The report – which presents the findings of an 18-month long assessment of the environment in the area that separates the two countries on the island of Hispaniola – identified four key issues: 1. Haitian poverty, food insecurity and under-development affect virtually all parts of the border zone; 2. Soil erosion, deforestation and a degraded marine environment are all indicative of growing environmental degradation; 3. Weak governance affects the economy and society in the area; and 4. Economic and resource inequalities cause many of the border zone problems.
The goal of the report is to promote increased national and local level bilateral cooperation to prevent or reduce tensions over border zone issues in addition to providing the framework for more sustainable livelihood practices and enhancing the resilience of the local populations.
The ten bi-national recommendations made in the study – to be implemented at an estimated cost of USD$136 million over a five-year period – include 1. Protecting and increasing vegetation cover; 2. Promoting sustainable agricultural development; 3. Reducing transboundary river flood risk; 4. Improving the sustainability of transboundary trade and bi-national markets; 5. Developing and diversifying the economy of the border zone; 6. Addressing the contamination of transboundary rivers; 7. Improving existing transboundary cooperation mechanisms that deal with environmental issues and transboundary watersheds; 8. Promoting environmental governance to regulate and control the trade of charcoal and other forest products; 9. Strengthening the management of marine and coastal resources; and
10. Analyzing the flooding of Lake Azuei and Lake Enriquillo.
The study was financed by the Governments of Norway and Finland.
Contact: Andrew Morton, Coordinator, Haiti Regeneration Initiative, PCDMB, at: [email protected] and: www.unep.org/haiti
Haiti – Dominican Republic Envronmental challenges in the border zone
Haiti – Dominican Republic Environmental challenges in the border zone
53Haiti – Dominican Republic: Environmental challenges in the border zone
protected areas – some cross the border for a short period of time, others have settled in the Dominican Republic. Indeed some Dominican communities have large, well-integrated Haitian populations.207
The cross-border dynamic in agriculture is, however two-way. Some Dominicans engage in farming activities in Haiti, usually providing Haitian farmers with seedlings and materials, and tasking them with cultivating land. The crops – in particular rice in the northern and central provinces – is then sold back to Dominicans at a low price.208
Social issues linked to transboundary agricultureSeveral issues arise from the fact that many Haitians regularly cross the border illegally to work in agriculture and farm the land on the Dominican side. It is worth noting that the numbers increased dramatically following the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.209, 210, 211 The main concern for Haitians crossing the border is the lack of rights that they enjoy once in the Dominican Republic, whereas Dominicans are concerned about governance
and security, particularly where Haitians are settling illegally on vacant land and in protected areas.
Many Haitians complain of being robbed or arrested when they return to Haiti after a stint of migrant work and there are some accounts of illegal immigrants being forced to work in agriculture, although this is a bigger problem in the construction sector. A study conducted in 2009 found that 21% of the Haitian construction workers interviewed reported that they had had at some time been forced to work while in the Dominican Republic.212, 213
Most agriculture related labour problems occur in sugar cane production. Approximately 80% of sugar cane workers are of Haitian descent and are often recruited by Dominicans in Haiti, sometimes with the promise of well-paid work, and then brought across the border illegally and undocumented.214 The conditions sometimes border on those of forced labor, and there are some accounts of Haitian workers being rounded up and forced to work on the sugar plantations for less than US $2.50 a day, and of employers withholding wages.215
Slash and burn agriculture and overly intensive farming cycles have degraded the land by leaving the topsoil exposed to heavy rain, which washes it away. In addition, these practices frequently result in forest fires.
Slash and burn agriculture and overly intensive farming cycles in the Haiti – Dominican Republic border zone have degraded the land by leaving the topsoil exposed to heavy rain
9
January – June 2013
www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts
SudanNatural resources and peace in Darfur: International Donor Conference for Reconstruction and Development in Darfur
UNEP Sudan team members Magda Nassef and Brad Smith attended the International Donor Conference for Reconstruction and Development in Darfur in Doha, Qatar, from 7-8 April 2013. The conference presented the findings of the Darfur Joint Assessment Mission (DJAM) that took place between September and December 2012 to identify the needs of the Darfur population in moving from conflict to peace and recovery.
New report – Governance for Peace over Natural Resources
At the Doha Conference, UNEP launched the report Governance for Peace over Natural Resources. The report - funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) - looks at the importance of equitable and participatory environmental governance in Sudan, and how other countries across Africa, such as Kenya, Niger, and South Africa, have tried to
reduce tension over the environment and improve the management of land, water, forests and other resources.
Since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011 and the diminished oil export revenue, Sudan is
increasingly dependent on the livestock and agriculture sectors to boost its economy. Consequently fair governance of the country’s natural resources is critical as a foundation for the national economy. It is also imperative to place these issues on the agenda in the conflict affected border areas of Sudan such as Blue Nile and South Kordofan states
Climate change related environmental considerations to be included in Sudanese national constitution
Together with the Sudanese Environment Conservation Society (SECS), UNEP organised a workshop on developing an environmental paragraph to be included in the new constitution of the Republic of Sudan. The environmental status in the current
constitution and environmental laws were presented and discussed, and gaps identified. Now, a committee of legal experts is going to formulate an amendment to integrate environmental issues into the new constitution.
UNEP Sudan working on Forestry
In February 2013 Robin Bovey, UNEP Pro-gramme Manager, received an award for consolidating Sudan’s integrated forestry and environment programme at the 19th Forestry Conference held by the Forests National Corporation (FNC) in Khartoum. UNEP Sudan has been working closely with the FNC on Climate Change and REDD+ activities.
Pastoralist Livestock Production is Vital for Livelihoods and the Economy in Sudan: UNEP study
Pastoralists in Sudan turn environmental instability – characterized by variable rainfall and unpredictable pasture – into an economic asset and a reliable source of food. To ensure the continued performance of the pastoral sector, livestock mobility and associated selective feeding strategies are key. In fact, evidence from Sudan shows that both ‘nomadic’ and ‘sedentary’ pastoralists consider livestock mobility vital to the success of their business, according to a recent report by UNEP, Tufts University and SOS Sahel Sudan. The report, entitled “Standing Wealth: Pastoralist Livestock Production and Local Livelihoods in Sudan” and funded by UKaid as part of their
Governance for Peace over Natural Resources
Governance for Peace over Natural ResourcesA review of transitions in environmental governance across Africa as a resource for peacebuilding and environmental management in Sudan
United Nations Environment Programme
Robin Bovey, head of UNEP’s programmes in Sudan and South Sudan from 2009 to 2013, retired this year after an illustrious career in environmental management that spanned four decades and multiple countries. In February he received an award for his work on forestry and the environment
support to UNEP’s project in Sudan, analyzes the importance of pastoralist livestock production for the country’s economy, and ways in which pastoralism can be supported in the future to benefit livelihoods and the economy of Sudan.
Sudan is once again turning to agriculture as a major source of national income, and livestock is a cornerstone of Sudan’s agricultural production. The characteristics of livestock supply, in terms of states of origin, breed composition and seasonality, indicate that most livestock in Sudan is sourced from pastoral production. Yet the importance of this production system, and the key elements that make it operate successfully, are still poorly understood among decision makers and planners. Moreover, the full value of pastoralism remains largely ‘hidden’ from national accounts. This study examines the way that livestock management systems in Sudan contribute to securing livelihoods and the wider economy, and argues for constructively engaging with the logic of the system to craft policies and strategies that safeguard its continued contribution.
Standing Wealth Pastoralist Livestock Production and Local Livelihoods in Sudan
On the HoofLivestock Trade in Darfur
Standing Wealth Pastoralist Livestock Production and Local Livelihoods in Sudan
South SudanWaste management is one of the three main pillars of UNEP’s programme in South Sudan. Activities are currently focused on solid waste management in Juba. Situated on the White Nile, Juba is the capital and largest city in the country. Since the Peace Agreement between the South and North Sudan, the city has developed rapidly and is now considered one of the fastest-growing cities in the region with a current population reaching one million today from 375,000 in 2008.
UNEP carried out an assessment of the environmental impact of the practice of dumping municipal solid waste at the site near Jebel Kujur, so as to better inform decisions regarding remedial action. In an April report, UNEP recommends establishing a spatial plan for the city and the region for the handling of hazardous waste as there is currently no alternative to the uncontrolled dumping at the site. An analysis of waste composition was also conducted to obtain reliable data which can be used as the basis of designing and developing waste and recycling systems in Juba. Future land use planning in the vicinity of the dump site (on-going or closed) will also be given high priority to minimise impacts to an acceptable level.
Building environmental governance of the oil industry in South Sudan
UNEP is planning a 5-year project on strengthening the environmental governance capacity in the oil sector of the Republic of South Sudan.
Oil revenues constitute more than 98% of the government of South Sudan’s budget according to the southern government’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. Known reserves stand at over 8 billion barrels.
There are number of issues relating to the sustainable management of hydrocarbons on which UNEP will be able to provide technical advice, including an environmental assessment of hydrocarbon development. UNEP can also support the Government and the civil society to ensure that the industry operates according to international best practices.
Contact: Arshad Khan, UNEP Officer-in-Charge, South Sudan, PCDMB, at: [email protected]: www.unep.org/southsudan
Waste-pickers in South Sudan work under extremely challenging conditions that threaten their health
![QOL-- Where are the Young Adults1 Where Do Young Adults Live and Why? Combining Quality of Life [QOL] Measures with Geographic Information Systems [GIS]](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/56649e445503460f94b385d9/qol-where-are-the-young-adults1-where-do-young-adults-live-and-why-combining.jpg)
