Attachments
In its work on disasters and conflicts, which aims to minimize threats to human well-being from environmental degradation, UNEP focuses on achieving results in two areas:
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Risk reduction – Improving countries’ ability to use environmental management to prevent and reduce the risks of natural hazards, industrial disasters and conflict.
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Response and recovery – Supporting countries in the aftermath of a disaster or conflict to identify and address environmental risks that could have serious social and economic impacts.
Risk reduction
Over the last two years, UNEP supported 28 countries to reduce the risks of natural disasters, industrial accidents and conflicts.
At the global level, a key measure of success is how well UNEP can integrate ecosystem-based solutions for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and peacebuilding into the wider UN’s guidelines, policies and programmes. Ten significant UN policies, guidelines and programmes now reflect best practice in sustainable natural resource management, bringing the total number to 23. This exceeds the target of 20 for the end of 2015. UNEP is now also directly reaching the next generation of policymakers through online training on DRR.
Response and recovery
UNEP responds to acute environmental emergencies as part of humanitarian response teams. It also conducts post-crisis assessments of environmental damage and recovery needs, and provides guidance to those involved in recovery. UNEP responded to crises and supported recovery in 22 countries over the last two years – ten of which were acute environmental emergencies.
UNEP has carried out post-crisis or rapid environmental assessments in 29 countries since 2010. Between 2010 and 2014, in 88% of the assessments where UNEP identified serious risks, national governments or the UN took action to reduce those risks.