Resources

Managing solid waste: Sector-specific guidelines for the Red Cross Red Crescent

Developed as part of the RCRC Green Response initiative, these guidelines provide practical, sector specific information on how to better manage solid waste to improve emergency response operations. Key concepts and best practices in solid waste management are presented, Read More

Asbestos and Humanitarian Response: A Life-Threatening Humanitarian Challenge

This note from the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week at the International Conference Center, Geneva on 7 February 2020 provides a summary of discussions and further actions to consider arising from a session on Asbestos and Humanitarian Response - a Life-Threatening Humanitarian Challenge includes key concepts of reducing the risk of asbestos in post-disaster operations. Read More

Clusters and COVID-19 page

Browse through the COVID-19-Cluster's page to find the latest updates and relevant information about how the Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 impacts clusters. Find links to the general global updates on COVID-19, guidelines linked to the clusters, protection guidelines, webinars, among others. Read More

UNEP Flexible Framework: chemical accidents prevention and preparedness programme

These two documents from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)Â provides guidance for governments seeking to develop, review or strengthen their national chemical accidents prevention and preparedness programme.

UNEP is leading an international initiative to promote chemical accident prevention and preparedness. The initiative focuses on the development and implementation of a Flexible Framework for Chemical Accident Prevention and a Flexible Framework for Addressing Chemical Accident Prevention and Preparedness. Both offering guidance for governments wanting to develop, review or strengthen their national chemical accidents prevention and preparedness programme.

UNEP informs that almost every country experiences chemical accidents each year, occurring both at small facilities such as pesticide warehouses and large installations such as refineries, at public facilities (including water treatment plants using chlorine or private manufacturing facilities for the chemical, pharmaceutical, and consumer products industries), in urban settings and industrial parks or in rural areas where there might be mining operations or refrigeration facilities.

Find more information about the guidance on Flexible Framework for Chemical Accident Prevention and the brochure on Flexible Framework for Addressing Chemical Accident Prevention and Preparedness on the Environmental Emergencies Centre (EEC) here

Download the brochure here and the guidance here

 

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Environment in COVID-19 humanitarian response in Latin America and the Caribbean

UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Latin America and Caribbean Office have developed a policy paper setting out the response services that UNEP can offer in the region. Both through continuing support to ongoing emergencies and response to new requests for support from governments and other UN agencies, UNEP will focus support on: Read More

Lessons Learned Bulletin on Pandemic Measures and Chemical Process Safety

This factsheet is a special issue from the Lessons Learned Bulletin (LLB) and intends to raise awareness of risks associated with shutdown and startup of industrial sites where dangerous substances are present. Read More

Environmental Checklist for Shelter Response

The Environmental Checklist & Guidance for Shelter Response in Vanuatu was produced to fill the knowledge gap of the Vanuatu Shelter Cluster highlighted during past responses. The Checklist and associated Guidance Notes (in Annexes) link to the Cluster’s Technical Guidelines for Shelter Preparedness and Response to Natural Hazards and aims to inform environmentally sustainable shelter programming by making providing information about environmental considerations, impacts, concerns related to shelter operations. The Environmental Checklist for Shelter Response is designed to guide the shelter coordination team, program managers and field staff through the steps required to ensure that environmental considerations are adequately considered and implemented in humanitarian shelter programs. The tool is in the pilot phase and will be updated after being tested in future responses.

Download the Checklist here

Download the Guidance here

 

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From containment to recovery: Environmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

The OECD has published a brief on the immediate steps that governments can take to ensure that emergency measures implemented to tackle the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. The brief highlights that the crisis should not derail governments efforts to address pressing environmental challenges and improve environmental health and resilience of societies. Read More

Glossary of Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Terminology

WHO has conducted a Glossary that aims to enable all actors, sectors and communities to work together more efficiently. The glossary is developed to remedy the lack of standardized terminology in the field of Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM). Read More

UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit – IKI Project Factsheet

This factsheet provides an overview of the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit's IKI Project, an inter-agency project which aims to strengthen climate change adaptation in target humanitarian hotspots. The project supports vulnerable communities, internally displaced people, refugees and host communities that face climate-related risks.

The projects involves three implementing countries, Burundi, Chad and Sudan. The partners involved in the project involve the United Nations World Food Programme, the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit,, UNHCR, UNICEF and the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).

The IKI Project aims to improve understanding and integration of climate-environment risk planning. It aims to improve clean energy access, proper waste management and encourage reforestation. It also aims to empower communities on a local level so they have the capacity to address the impacts of climate change.

Download the factsheet here.

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Evaluating Climate Vulnerability in Humanitarian Hotspots

This study, conducted in 2019, focuses on the definition of climate vulnerability with operational and political perspectives and delivers guidelines for assessing climate vulnerability in long-term crises, such as in conflict-affected countries and recurrent disaster-prone areas.

The research draws on an extensive academic literature review in the fields of biology, political science, sociology and geography. It derives data from a variety of innovative projects and methods in the field of development and humanitarian aid, induced and encouraged by the Grand Bargain. In addition, the research offers a contribution to the IKI Project carried out by the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit in the refugee camp of Gitega Province in Burundi.

The study is available in French only. Read More

Remote Sensing for Risk Analyses in Fragile Contexts

This study, conducted in 2020, sheds light on a variety of potentials and pitfalls of remote sensing for disaster risk analyses in fragile contexts. This topic gains importance in light of the need to formulate more systemic and better-integrated approaches to risk-informed development. Evidence-based policy recommendations encourage organizational learning and action such as resource pooling, project evaluation and multi-stakeholder cooperation.

The research reveals cutting-edge practical experiences from a dozen in-depth expert interviews, including the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit and UN-SPIDER, the aerospace community NASA, DLR and Maxar, the German development agency GIZ and civil protection authority BBK. Supported by an extensive body of interdisciplinary literature, this work offers a contribution to understanding ambiguous feedback effects of digital technologies in dynamic environments.

The study is available in English only. Read More

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