Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment In Disasters REA Benfield

Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment In Disasters (REA) Benfield Hazard Research Centre (Univ. College London) and CARE International Funded by: UNEP/OCHA, OFDA/USAID, Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Problem • Environmental conditions often contribute to disasters. • Disasters can result in negative environmental impacts. • Relief aid can have positive or negative environmental impact. • Lack of a systematic way to incorporate environmental impact assessment into disaster management.

Context Differences Normal and Disaster Assessments • • • Normal Lead Time Legal Requirement Deliberate and pro-active Will be comprehensive “No project” an option Location known Duration planned Beneficiary populations known and static Environmental goals can be made compatible with economic ones • • • Disaster Sudden onset Rarely a legal requirement Reactive May need to be partial in coverage “No project” not an option Unpredictable location Uncertain duration Population dynamic and heterogeneous Saving lives given priority Activities sometimes hard to reconcile with environmental goals.

The Response • Develop a process to rapidly identify salient environmental issues during any type of disaster. • Develop a Guidelines for Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment. • Train people to use the REA process. • Position the Guidelines as a “good practice” for disaster management.

Target Users • Non-Specialists: NGO, IO and government personnel involved in emergency assessment, design and operations. • Communities • HQ staff – NGO and donors, as a way to screen for environmental impacts and issues.

Assessment Components Four “Tools”: 1. Organization Level Assessment 2. Community Level Assessment 3. Consolidation and Analysis 4. Green Emergency Procurement Checklist

Organization & Community Assessment Subjective Approach Five Elements: • • • Context Statement Factors Influencing Environmental Impacts Environmental Threats of Disasters Unmet Basic Needs Negative Environmental Consequences of Possible Relief Activities Organization Assessment: rating and ranking sheets. Community Assessment: questions to be answered based on questionnaire or focused discussions.

Consolidation and Analysis • • Brings together results of organization and community assessments. Uses simple rating and ranking tables. Is best done in a group setting. Reviews negative environmental impacts of relief activities again.

Green Emergency Procurement Checklist • Topic which receives little attention in disasters. • UNHCR, WFP and others have guidelines, but not usually followed. • Focus on eight yes/no questions to identify areas in which procurement could be “greener”.

REA Outcomes • Common sense changes to activities. • New activities. • Identification of need for experts (with defined mandates). • Advocacy

Requirements • One person or group (preferred). • 5 hours to 14 days for initial assessment. • Basic information about disaster and environmental conditions in the disaster area. • Trained field assessment/survey personnel, if community assessment to be done. • Follow Sphere guidance on assessments.

Progress To Date • Guidelines developed, tested in Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Indonesia and significantly expanded. • The REA referenced in the new Sphere. • Face-to-Face REA training module developed and four pilot training events completed (Oslo, Antigua, Bhubaneshwar, Konark). • e. Learning module in final development.

REA II • Dissemination and Refinement • Environment and Disasters Network • Refinement and localization. • Acceptance as good practice. • Training • Focus on building local and regional capacities. • Revised and expanded training materials. • Operational Use

Environmental NGO Linkages • Background on local environmental issues. • Raising awareness about environmental conditions in disaster area. • Input of environmental “perspective” to assessment process. • Follow through on medium and long term issues identified in assessment.

Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment In Disasters (REA) Project Web Site: www. benfieldhrc. org/DMUSetup/Projects/rea. htm Environment and Disasters Listserve: http: //www. jiscmail. ac. uk/cgibin/wa. exe? SUBED 1=environment-disasters&A=1 Comments and Queries to Charles Kelly 72734. 2412@Compuserve. com