The UNEP response to environmental crises across the globeDisasters and Conflicts

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 is comprised of 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: postconflict@unep.org Or visit: www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

January – June 2013Biannual Progress Report

UNEP Disasters and Conflicts Sub-Programme

Post-Crisis Environmental Assessment . . . . . . . p2

Post-Crisis Environmental Recovery . . . . . . . . . p4

Evironmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding . . . .p11

Disaster Risk Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p14

The Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) .p17

Publications – recent releases . . . . . . . . . . . .p19

Two TEDx Geneva talks availableDavid Jensen: Natural resources and peacebuilding: Is the United Nations united? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ViewMuralee Thummarukudy: All disasters are preventable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .View

Côte d’Ivoire is seeking to establish a roadmap for peacebuilding and economic recovery (see p. 2)

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UNEP Disasters & Conflicts

UNEP Afghanistan

UNEP Haiti

UNEP Sudan

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Côte d’IvoireCôte d’Ivoire has been affected by conflict and volatility in recent years following a 2002 civil war and a 2010 post-election crisis.

Today this West African nation – with the highest level of biodiversity in the region, vast mineral deposits and significant revenue from cocoa exports – is seeking to establish a roadmap for peacebuilding and economic recovery. Within this framework it aims to address environmental and natural resource governance on a national scale and as a precondition for sustainable development and conflict prevention.

Consequently UNEP started a Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment (PCEA) in April 2013 at the request of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire in order to carry out

systematic and quantitative analyses of the environment and natural resources based on remote sensing, environmental sampling and institutional assessment.

UNEP is also examining the links between natural resources and conflict, including both historical connections and potential links in the future.

This integrated assessment approach will inform the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, the international community and civil society organisations. The PCEA will present the current status of the environment in Côte d’Ivoire in key sectors and include recommendations for practical and institutional responses. The results will be published by late 2013.

Contact: Muralee Thummarukudy, Senior Programme Officer, PCDMB, at: muralee.thummarukudy@unep.org

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.

Côte d’Ivoire has the highest level of biodiversity in the region

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UNEP/OCHA EEC launch and AGEE Forum

The 2013 Advisory Group on Environmental Emergency (AGEE) Forum - organised by the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit (JEU) - saw 111 participants, from 26 countries, 12 UN organisations and 17 international and non-governmental organisations, gather in Geneva to discuss topical issues related to environmental emergencies and the environment in humanitarian action.

Held every two years, the AGEE brings together key government, industry, academic and non-governmental representatives - policy makers, environmental experts, and disasters managers - keen to share their expertise, knowledge and lessons learned.

At AGEE, partners highlighted the need for greater political engagement on environmental emergencies. Participants also agreed on a number of collective priorities including:

� Embedding environmental emergencies into com-prehensive disaster risk management frameworks;

� Enhancing response mechanisms;

� Encouraging the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and UNEP

to establish interface arrangements with relevant international organizations;

� Advocating for consideration of the environment in humanitarian action.

Integrating environmental concerns into disaster recovery

The JEU remains committed to integrating environmental concerns into disaster recovery. In 2013 the JEU has to date led two missions – supported by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency – that aim to support the integration of the environment into humanitarian action.

The first mission to Mindanao (Philippines) was in response to the devastation caused by typhoon Bopha/Pablo in December 2012. The JEU supported the clusters and the national government in their recovery efforts, and worked to integrate environmental considerations into the Bopha/Pablo Action Plan for Recovery, which was launched in January 2013.

The second mission in Mozambique was to assess the environmental impact of heavy flooding in the country in March 2013. The assessment team provided an evaluation of the damage to various socio-economic sectors by floods and identified immediate response needs, as well as short and medium term recovery requirements of the affected communities. The mission provided recommendations to UN agencies and their government partners on key environmental issues to include in recovery plans and long-term development planning, in order to reduce underlying risk.

Industrial Hazards

According to a study on environmental emergency preparedness developed by the JEU, there is a need to apply a multi-hazard approach to emergency preparedness and widen the scope of existing disaster contingency plans. Accordingly, UNEP is recommending that technological/industrial hazards be given equal priority as natural hazards in disaster risk reduction in the post 2015 Disaster Risk Reduction Framework.

Within this context, the JEU is currently working with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and Kenya’s National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) to identify’ industrial hazards in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya that pose a potentially grave threat to environmental security and safety.

The JEU mission was requested by the NDOC in order to include industrial hazards into national contingency planning and specific standard operating procedures for environmental emergency response. There are two phases to the work: Field Industrial Hazard Identification and Training.

Contact: Rene Nijenhuis, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, at: nijenhuis@un.org

Flooded area in Mandlakazi, Mozambique

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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

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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.

Contact: Andrew Scanlon, Officer-in-Charge, UNEP Afghanistan Programme, PCDMB, at: andrew.scanlon@unep.org and: www.unep.org/afghanistan

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.

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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.

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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

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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.

Contact: Hassan Partow, UNEP Programme Manager, DR Congo, PCDMB, at: hassan.partow@unep.org and: www.unep.org/drcongo

Eastern Lowland Gorilla

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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: andrew.morton@unep.org 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.

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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

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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

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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.

Contact: Howard Bell, Senior Advisor, Sudan, PCDMB, at: howard.bell@unep.org and: www.unep.org/sudan

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: arshad.khan@unep.organd: www.unep.org/southsudan

Waste-pickers in South Sudan work under extremely challenging conditions that threaten their health

11

January – June 2013

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

New Peacekeeping Mission Mandated to be ‘Green’On 25 April 2013, Security Council Resolution 2100 authorized the new United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to support political processes in that country and carry out a number of security-related tasks.

For the first time, the resolution also acknowledges sensitive environmental conditions in Mali by “request[ing] the Secretary-General to consider the environmental impacts of the operations of MINUSMA when fulfilling its mandated tasks and, in this context, encourages MINUSMA to manage them, as appropriate and in accordance with applicable and relevant General Assembly resolutions and United Nations rules and regulations, and to operate mindfully in the vicinity of cultural and historical sites”.

This new addition to the mandate of the mission in Mali reflects one of the core recommendations made in UNEP’s policy report “Greening the Blue Helmets: Environment, Natural Resources and UN Peacekeeping Operations”. It can be regarded as a major milestone in UNEP’s partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the UN Department of Field Support (DFS).

As a direct follow-up, UNEP has been requested by the DFS to provide technical expertise to MINUSMA on a wide range of environmental topics including, inter alia, environmental assessment, environmental management, camp design, waste management, water use and energy generation. UNEP experts formed part of a DFS-led engineering assessment mission to Mali from 4th to 8th June 2013, where a number of key opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of MINUSMA were identified. In addition to environmental protection, the measures to reduce energy and water use and improve waste management practices are likely to minimize security threats to MINUSMA supply convoys, improve the health and safety of local communities and peacekeepers, and result in significant cost savings.

The Government of Finland continues to be the main supporter of the efforts to ‘green’ peacekeeping operations both financially and politically. At a recent European Conference of Defence and the Environment held in Helsinki on 22 and 23 May 2013, and organized by the Finnish Ministry of Defence, UNEP was given a prominent role to present its latest endeavours aimed at greening peacekeeping operations.

Contact: Ivan Blazevic, Programme Officer, ECP, PCDMB, at: ivan.blazevic@unep.org and: www.unep.org/ecp

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 UN Department of Political Affairs, the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support in New York, the European Commission and the European External Action Service in Brussels.

UNEP has been requested by the DFS to provide technical expertise to MINUSMA on a wide range of environmental topics

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Disasters and Conflicts

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New Book Explores the Role of Land in Conflict and PeacebuildingA new book analyzing how disputes over land resources incite conflict, while effective management of land can also promote peacebuilding and support development in conflict-affected countries and territories, was released in March by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP/ECP), the University of Tokyo, and McGill University.

Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding is the third book in a six-volume series addressing the challenges and opportunities of managing natural resources for post-conflict peacebuilding around the world. The newly released book explores the challenges of land management arising before, during, and after violent conflict, examining how land and property rights create opportunities to resolve conflict and lay the foundation for a long-term peace.

For more information access: www.routledge.com and: www.environmentalpeacebuilding.com

Contact: David Jensen, Head of ECP, PCDMB, at: david.jensen@unep.org and: www.unep.org/ecp

Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

UNDG-ECHA Guidance Note on Natural Resources in TransitionIn 2009-2010, UNEP contributed actively to drafting four thematic guidance notes (renewables, land, extractives, capacity building) under the EU-UN Partnership on Land and Natural Resource Conflicts. UNEP has also been

working with ELI to publish six books of 150 case studies of good practice on managing natural resources to support post-conflict peacebuilding. To ensure these materials and lessons were disseminated as broadly as possible across the UN system, UNEP established and chaired a Task Team (TT) within the UNDG that included conflict specialists from UNDG as well as participants from the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs (including humanitarian agencies but also peace & security entities such as DPA and DPKO). The output was an official UN Guidance Note on Natural Resource Management in Transition Settings, to which UNEP contributed in the drafting process. The guidance note was sent on 23 October 2012 by Helen Clark and Valery Amos for the approval of UNDG and ECHA Principals (USGs). It was formally endorsed and released in January 2013 following endorsement by 38 different UN entities. As of May 2013, the Guidance Note had been disseminated to all UN country teams. Sustained and systematic efforts are now needed in terms of training, implementation and monitoring. This guidance is a major milestone and could form the basis for a more extensive UNEP operational presence in post-conflict countries to address natural resource risks and opportunities.

The guidance note is accessible online: here.

Contact: Matti Lehtonen, Programme Officer, ECP, PCDMB, at: lehtonen@un.org and: www.unep.org/ecp

Natural Resource Management in Transition Settings UNDG–ECHA Guidance Note

Natural resource MaNageMeNt in traNsitioN settiNgs

uNDg – ecHa guidance Note January 2013

13

January – June 2013

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

Post-2015 thematic consultations on conflict, violence and disastersSince July 2012 the United Nations has coordinated 11 thematic consultations related to the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the process that will succeed the UN Millennium Development Goals. UNEP has co-led the ‘environmental sustainability’ thematic consultation and also been a steering committee member of the ‘conflict, violence and disasters’ thematic consultation.

The latter has included background papers, internet-based discussions and meetings held in Indonesia, Liberia, Panama and Finland. UNEP participated in the consultations in Indonesia that focussed on disasters as well as providing detailed technical inputs for the other meetings on natural resources and conflicts.

The final synthesis paper includes a number of ‘key messages and emerging priorities.’ In particular, it recognises the critical role of the sustainable management of natural resources in both disaster and conflict prevention and post-conflict peacebuilding. In total, two of 12 recommendations focus on the environment and natural resources; this is a major milestone in terms of recognizing these linkages at the highest level in the peace and security community.

The inputs from the 11 thematic consultations will feed to the intergovernmental process connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNEP’s main partners in the conflict, violence and disasters thematic consultation have been Peacebuilding Support Office and UNDP.

Contact: Matti Lehtonen, Programme Officer, ECP, PCDMB, at: lehtonen@un.org and: www.unep.org/ecp

TEDx Geneva talk by David JensenIn April 2013, David Jensen, UNEP staff member, delivered a TEDx talk on “Natural resources and peacebuilding: Is the United Nations united?” The pre-sentation focused

on the need to address natural resource degradation, governance and benefit-sharing as fundamental components of peacebuilding in Afghanistan and other post-conflict countries. It highlighted new initiatives that are taking shape to broker collaboration and cooperation on natural resource challenges both inside the UN and with relevant partners on the ground. See more: here.

Aerial view of the rutile dredge and factory in the middle of a flooded rutile pit in south-central Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has large quantities of rutile and illmenite which are found in topsoil along coastal areas of the country. The mining operation involves flooding large areas of ground and leaves wide expanses of mined area to be rehabilitated

14

Disasters and Conflicts

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

Book Launch at the 4th Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, 19 May, Geneva, Switzerland UNEP together with United Nations University (UNU) and IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) launched a book entitled The role of ecosystems in disaster risk reduction, at the 4th Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. Edited by UNU, IUCN-CEM and UNEP and published by UNU Press, the book is the first volume of its kind to present an overview on the topic, combining both scientific research and practitioners’ experiences in applying ecosystem-based approaches for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. With contributions from 59 professionals, the book covers experiences from the Caribbean, North and Central America, southern and western Africa, Europe, Asia and Pacific.

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 risks, and provides environmental data and expertise on sustainable management of shared natural resources.

The Role of Ecosystems in Disaster Risk Reduction

Deforested slopes near Kinshasa, DRC where flooding, soil erosion and poor water quality are major issues

15

January – June 2013

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

Launch of the Masters Course on Disasters, Environment & Risk Reduction In an effort to target root causes of disaster risk and promote environmental solutions, an innovative graduate course on Disasters, Environment and Risk Reduction was launched by UNEP and the Centre for Natural Resources and Development (CNRD) at the 7th World Environmental Education Congress in Marrakesh, Morocco. This course aims to increase awareness among graduates on the links between environment, disaster risk and development. With over 50 hours of interactive teaching materials compiled by researchers and practitioners from over 10 countries, this course combines ecosystems studies with disaster risk management and climate change adaptation and can be taught within a wide range of masters programmes including geography, disaster management, climate studies and engineering. The module - funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Government of Germany - has been pilot tested in ten CNRD universities, including Indonesia, Egypt and

Master’s Module Disasters, Environment & Risk Reduction

Instructor’s Manual • Version 2013

master’s moduleDisasters, environment risk reDuction (eco-Drr)

&

Germany. The Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR) was also a key contributor to the development of this course.

National Trainings on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable and Resilient Development Promoting and scaling up ecosystem-based approaches in disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) requires political buy-in from policymakers, decision makers and planners in governments both at national and local levels. UNEP, in partnership with national government ministries and PEDRR partners, delivered national trainings on ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction in Afghanistan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. The trainings raised greater awareness and enhanced capacities in applying sustainable ecosystem management for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Based on the National Training Course on Eco-DRR developed by PEDRR, the trainings are further tailored towards each country context and are geared towards developing an Agenda for Action that facilitates inter-sectoral collaboration on mainstreaming ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction into development. UNEP is implementing Eco-DRR demonstration projects in the four countries, with funding support from the European Commission.

Contact: Marisol Estrella, DRR Project Coordinator, DRR, PCDMB, at: marisol.estrella@unep.org and: www.unep.org/drr

National training in Afghanistan brought national Government officials for a field visit to Bamyan Province

16

Disasters and Conflicts

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

The Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level (APELL) programme Global APELL Platform Launch

UNEP launched the online Global APELL Platform in 2013 in order to facilitate partnerships between governments, the private sector, and the local community. This online platform will be available through the Environmental Emergencies Centre, hosted by the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit. The programme will provide a forum for APELL experts to connect and share experiences and lessons learned in over 40 countries. By opening up lines of communication between APELL practitioners, it will aid in the identification of needs and effective response accordingly. Furthermore, it will provide access to expertise and current guidelines regarding environmental emergency preparedness at the global, regional, national and local levels.

Chemical Management Practices in Port Areas in Africa

The APELL programme in partnership with the International Council of Chemical Associations have launched a joint pilot project in Kenya which began on June 3, 2013. The objective was to promote chemical safety and emergency preparedness within the chemical industry in developing countries. This workshop comes as a response to the numerous accidents and deaths reported from various regions in Africa in regards to hazardous materials, contamination and severe pollution.

This capacity building pilot project was attended by 50 participants from Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda including representatives from the ministries

of Environment, Industry, Transport, Port Authorities, as well as academia. The National Cleaner Production Centres, manufacturers associations and chemical companies running operations in Africa also attended.

The project is aimed at sharing best practices and identifying current emergency management methods and plans, and will focus on two harbours: the Port of Mombasa in Kenya and Port of Tema in Ghana. These ports are important transit areas for chemicals entering the regions. The project outcomes will be disseminated in a region-wide workshop and will be published in a joint UNEP–ICCA Case Study Report, which will include the development of a training package supplement to facilitate future UNEP–ICCA capacity building efforts.

On 23 May, APELL joined the UNECE and the Joint UNEP–OCHA Environment Unit (JEU) in an event organised on environmental emergencies by Green Cross International and supported by the Switzerland’s International Cooperation (SDC). The event was organised as part of the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Geneva. This Platform seeks to highlight environmental emergencies as one of the priorities in disaster risk reduction and to advocate for incorporating industrial and technological disasters into multi-hazard contingency planning. UNEP presented the importance of local level preparedness for emergencies, and highlighted lessons learned from previous implementation of APELL around the world over the past 30 years. In particular, UNEP showed the value of multi-stakeholder action, involving the local authorities, the community and industry as key stakeholders for improved local level preparedness efforts.

To learn more about APELL and connect with the APELL community you can now access the Global APELL Platform at: apell.eecentre.org

Contact: Cristina Battaglino, Associate Programme Officer, UNEP/DTIE, at: cristina.battaglino@unep.org

The transport and warehousing of hazardous materials in Africa’s industrial ports is a growing concern. The promotion of chemical safety within the chemicals industry in developing countries is therefore necessary

17

January – June 2013

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

Training provided to Kosovan Judges & ProsecutorsThe Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) led a training course in justice systems and mechanisms in Kosovo in January 2013 for more than 20 Kosovan judges and prosecutors. The

course – held in cooperation with Kosovo’s Judicial Training Centers and the Ministry of Environment – aimed to teach about access to justice mechanisms and about justice provisions related to the Aarhus Convention, a multilateral environmental agreement that focuses on the public’s access to justice, among other issues. Course participants analyzed case studies from EU countries and Kosovo, and also simulated a court trial.

The Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC)The Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC) is an inter-agency initiative of international organizations comprised of UNEP, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the Regional Environmental Centre (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe. The ENVSEC partnership aims to reduce security risks and increase cooperation on management of natural resources and environmental threats in Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Multi-Stakeholder Workshops address Climate Change Adaptation in the Neman River Basin Plans for strategic collaboration on climate change adaptation in the Neman (Nemunas) River Basin — shared by Belarus, Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation – were developed by representatives

of different water users and authorities when they met at two workshops (one in March in Minsk, Belarus; the other in May in Vilnius, Lithuania) organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Development Programme. The participants reviewed the outcomes of the vulnerability assessment prepared under the ENVSEC project “River basin management and climate change adaptation in the Neman River Basin”, and discussed next steps, including an initiative to bring forward a transboundary agreement among the three countries.

Environmental Mediation and Conflict Resolution in South-East EuropeAn April workshop on Environmental Mediation and Confliction Resolution in South-East Europe allowed stakeholders to explore potential strategies and approaches to managing conflict and potential conflict with each other. The workshop - organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in partnership with the REC - was attended by international experts, NGO representatives and National Authorities from ministries and environmental agencies in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. Aarhus Centre representatives also attended from the aforementioned countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Flood Preparedness in the Dniester River BasinA workshop on flood preparedness and managing climate change, organized by UNEP, facilitated improvements in the way the public is informed about floods in the Dniester River Basin. The May workshop, in Lviv, Ukraine, brought together representatives from the Governments of Ukraine and Moldova. Experts from the Environment Protection Agency (UK), the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (Poland), OSCE and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) also participated in this workshop.

18

Disasters and Conflicts

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

Strengthening transboundary water cooperation between Georgia and AzerbaijanThe fifth bilateral consultations between Azerbaijan and Georgia took place in April 2013 in Georgia to further support both countries in strengthening transboundary water cooperation. The meeting was organized by the OSCE and the UNECE in collaboration with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan and

the Ministry of Environment Protection of Georgia. Consultations were held among representatives of the state agencies of Azerbaijan and Georgia to discuss in detail a draft agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Georgia on “Co-operation in the Field of Protection and Sustainable Use of the Water Resources of the Kura River Basin”.

Contact: Marika Palosaari, Programme Officer, ENVSEC, UNEP Regional Office for Europe, at: marika.palosaari@unep.org and: www.envsec.org

Kura river near Gori, Georgia

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January – June 2013

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

Publications – recent releases

Natural Resource Management and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan

UN Country Team report.

Launched: July 2013, Kabul

Information available here

NRM and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan Guidance Chart

A comprehensive guidance chart was published to accompany the UNCT NRM report.

Launched: July 2013, Kabul

Information available here

Haiti – Dominican Republic Environmental challenges in the border zone

This report presents the findings of an 18 month long assessment of the border zone.

Launched: June 2013, Port-au-Prince & Santo Domingo

Information available here

Standing Wealth Pastoralist Livestock Production and Local Livelihoods in Sudan

The analysis of stock production is based on three livestock systems.

Launched: May 2013, Khartoum

Information available here

Municipal Solid Waste Composition Analysis Study Juba, South Sudan

The rapid increase in volume and variety of solid and hazardous waste is a growing problem.

Launched: April 2013, Juba

Information available here

Governance for Peace over Natural Resources

The purpose of this report is to link sound environmental practices with local peace building.

Launched: April 2013, Khartoum

Information available here

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popu

latio

n. It

is a

lso

intr

insi

cally

lin

ked

to in

secu

rity

: gen

erat

ing

reve

nues

that

pay

the

oper

atio

nal

expe

nses

of i

nsur

gent

s (a

n es

timat

ed $

155

mill

ion

for

the

Talib

an in

200

9) a

nd in

cent

ivis

ing

poor

gov

erna

nce.

Afg

hani

stan

is th

e so

urce

of

seve

ral m

ajor

reg

iona

l riv

ers

flow

ing

into

wat

er-s

carc

e ne

ighb

ouri

ng c

ount

ries

. A

fgha

n w

ater

infr

astr

uctu

re

proj

ects

hav

e pr

oduc

ed

stro

ng d

iplo

mat

ic p

rote

sts

from

nei

ghbo

urin

g co

untr

ies.

A

s A

fgha

nist

an in

vest

s in

ne

w ir

riga

tion

sche

mes

an

d da

m in

fras

truc

ture

, co

oper

ativ

e pl

anni

ng a

nd

man

agem

ent w

ill b

e in

tegr

al

to a

void

ing

regi

onal

tens

ions

.

Inse

curi

ty, e

ndem

ic

corr

uptio

n an

d w

eak

man

agem

ent

allo

w la

nd

grab

bing

by

pow

erfu

l elit

es

in m

any

part

s of

Afg

hani

stan

. Th

e ec

onom

ic

and

polit

ical

m

argi

nalis

atio

n th

at th

is le

ads

to is

a

sign

ifica

nt c

ause

of

con

flict

.

Ther

e is

a h

isto

ry o

f m

inin

g re

venu

es in

A

fgha

nist

an fu

ndin

g lo

cal w

arlo

rds

and

arm

ed

grou

ps. T

he fo

rmer

le

ader

of t

he N

orth

ern

Alli

ance

, Ahm

ad S

hah

Mas

soud

, rep

orte

dly

fund

ed h

is a

nti-S

ovie

t ca

mpa

ign

in th

e Pa

njsh

ir

valle

y in

the

1980

s by

im

posi

ng a

tax

on th

e m

inin

g of

em

eral

ds a

nd

lapi

s la

zuli.

Afg

hani

stan

’s

east

ern

fore

sts

have

bec

ome

the

sour

ce o

f a

lucr

ativ

e cr

imin

al n

etw

ork

smug

glin

g hi

gh-v

alue

ce

dar

woo

d to

Pak

ista

n an

d be

yond

, co

ntri

butin

g to

the

regi

on’s

in

secu

rity

.

AAffg

hghan

ista

n is

the

sour

ce o

anis

tan

is th

e so

urce

off

seve

rase

vera

ll ma

majj

or r

eor

regg

iona

iona

ll riv

ers

riv

ers

flow

ing

into

wat

er-s

carc

e flo

win

g in

to w

ater

-sca

rce

neig

hbou

ring

cou

ntri

es.

neig

hbou

ring

cou

ntri

es.

Af

Afg

hghan

wat

er in

fras

truc

tur

an w

ater

infr

astr

uctu

re e

prprojoj

ecectsts

hhavavee

prprodod

ucuceded

Afg

hani

stan

’s

unde

rgro

und

reso

urce

s,

valu

ed b

etw

een

$1an

d $3

trill

ion

dolla

rs,

incl

ude

gem

ston

es,

uran

ium

, pre

ciou

s m

etal

s, g

as, o

il an

d co

al. E

xtra

ctiv

es

can

gene

rate

jobs

, ea

rn r

even

ue a

nd

fund

infr

astr

uctu

re.

How

ever

, ric

h m

iner

al

reso

urce

s ca

n al

so b

e a

curs

e th

at b

reed

s vi

olen

t con

flict

, co

rrup

tion,

and

bad

gov

erna

nce,

stu

nts

econ

omic

gro

wth

an

d ca

uses

new

env

iron

men

tal a

nd s

ocia

l pro

blem

s.

Haiti – Dominican Republic Environmental challenges in the border zone

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

On the HoofLivestock Trade in Darfur

Standing Wealth Pastoralist Livestock Production and Local Livelihoods in Sudan

Municipal Solid Waste Composition Analysis Study

Juba, South Sudan

April 2013

The Role of Ecosystems in Disaster Risk Reduction

The book is the first volume of its kind to present an overview on the topic, combining both scientific research and practitioners’ experiences.

Launched: May 2013, Geneva

Information available here

Master’s Module Disasters, Environment & Risk Reduction

This course can be taught within a wide range of masters programmes.

Launched: May 2013, Köln (Cologne)

Information available here

Instructor’s Manual • Version 2013

master’s moduleDisasters, environment risk reDuction (eco-Drr)

&

20

Disasters and Conflicts

www.unep.org/disastersandconflicts

Publications – recent releases (continued)

Municipal Solid Waste Open Dump Site Juba, South Sudan

Rapid growth in population has put significant pressure on waste management services.

Launched: April 2013, Juba

Information available here

Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

A new book analyzing how disputes over land resources incite conflict and how effective land management can promote peacebuilding.

Launched: March 2013, New York

Information available here

Natural Resource Management and Conflict Risk in Fragile States

Public seminar summary.

Launched: January 2013, Nairobi

Information available here

UNDG-ECHA Guidance Note on Natural Resources in Transition Settings

This guidance note aims to help understand the roles that natural resources play in peace consolidation.

Launched: January 2013, New York

Information available here

Municipal Solid Waste Open Dump Site

Juba, South Sudan

Preliminary Environmental Assessment

April 2013

Natural resource MaNageMeNt in traNsitioN settiNgs

uNDg – ecHa guidance Note January 2013

Natural Resource Management and Conflict Risk in Fragile States

Public Seminar

31 January 2013, Nairobi, Kenya

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

Integrated Baseline Study Port-à-Piment Watershed Sud Department, Haiti

This report measures indicators of development and poverty reduction over a multi-year timeframe.

Launched: May 2013, Port-au-Prince

Information available here

Integrated Baseline Study Ten Communes of the Southwest Coast South Department, Haiti

This report provides an integrated multi-sector analysis for the ten communes.

Launched: May 2013, Port-au-Prince

Information available here

Integrated Baseline StudyPort-à-Piment Watershed Sud Department, Haiti

CÔT E SUD

I N I T I A T I VE

Integrated Baseline StudyTen Communes of the Southwest Coast, South Department, Haiti

CÔT E SUD

I N I T I A T I VE