UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit – Disaster Waste Management Factsheet

This factsheet describes the supporting role the UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit (JEU) undertakes during disaster waste management activities. Read More

UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit – FEAT Factsheet

This factsheet describes the Flash Environmental Assessment Tool (FEAT), a tool developed by the UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit (JEU) to help humanitarians assess the impacts of chemical accidents. Read More

Model Approach to Environmental and Social Standards in UN Programming

Robust social and environmental standards and related accountability mechanisms are increasingly applied as best practice in a broad range of international programming and investments for sustainable development. In practical terms such standards aim to ensure that development and humanitarian actors are held to the principles they proclaim, Read More

Guidelines for Environmental Assessment Following Chemical Emergencies

Guidance document by the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit to assist the disseminating of information amongst the international community and identifying the exact type of international assistance required. Read More

Terms of Reference: Working Group on Environmental Analysis for Humanitarian Action

This document details the objectives of the Working Group on Remote Environmental Analysis for Humanitarian Action, which has been set up as part of the Joint Initiative project. Read More

Scoping Study: Coordinated Assessment for Environmental and Humanitarian Action

This scoping report provides a situational analysis, outlining the challenges and providing draft recommendations regarding the use of environmental assessment tools, with focus on the Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment in Disasters (REA)." Read More

Climate Change and Health: An Urgent New Frontier for Humanitarianism

A policy briefing provided by the international research collaboration The Lancet Countdown, offering an updated analysis of the intersection of climate change and global health. The briefing integrates the findings of the 2018 Lancet Countdown on Climate Change’s International Report with MSF’s documented on-the-ground experiences. Read More

UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit Factsheet

Factsheet summarizing the work conducted by the UN Environment/OCHA Joint Unit in its role to coordinate expertise for environmental emergencies and integrating environment in humanitarian action. Read More

World Agroforestry: Restoring Natural Capital Through Tree-Based Interventions to Deduce Social Tensions in Humanitarian Settings

This document published by World Agroforestry details its initiative in Northern Uganda landscapes. The initiative focused on identifying potential tree-based approaches to protecting and restoring the ecoystem and assessing the enablers for fast-tracking ecosystem restoration in Rhino Camp and Imvepi settlements. Read More

Reducing environmental impact in humanitarian response – Sphere Thematic Sheet

Sphere recently published a new resource that offers hands-on guidance to practitioners looking to consider environmental issues in their humanitarian programmes. It is the first in a series of thematic sheets that will discuss some of the core issues in humanitarian response.

[caption id="attachment_2417" align="aligncenter" width="633"] Photo: Kate Holt/IRIN[/caption]

To understand what a thematic sheet is and discuss environmental issues for humanitarians more broadly, Sphere talked to the author, Amanda George. A humanitarian professional with extensive experience in environmental and sustainability issues and climate change adaptation, she was directly involved in drafting the Sphere Handbook as a thematic expert, engaged through the Swedish Red Cross.

She is currently an international Environment in Humanitarian Action consultant, working closely with the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit.

To read the full interview with Amanda George, click here.

To download the Sphere Environment Thematic Sheet, choose from the four languages below:

English - Thematic Sheet Environment;

French - Thematic Sheet Environment;

Arabic - Thematic Sheet Environment;

Spanish - Thematic Sheet Environment. Read More

IUCN – From Commitment to Action

This publication by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provides a briefing on transforming disaster risk reduction with ecosystem management. Read More

WWF – Green Guide to Disaster Risk Reduction

The WWF Environment & Disaster Management (EMD) program's Green Guide to Disaster Risk Reduction module 9 can be used for disaster risk reduction specialists to increase their awareness of appropriate and useful integration of environmental considerations into risk assessment and risk reduction. Read More