Guidance for Situation Analysis in Sudden Onset Emergencies

How to do a Situation Analysis for sudden onset emergency response and recovery

• Identify the key links between environmental factors and humanitarian action:
  • Are there environmental causes connected to the crisis? Identify key environmental drivers and underlying environmental factors.
    • Key environmental drivers include land degradation and deforestation, degraded coastlines and wetland ecosystems, the pollution of water, land and air (for example due to improper waste management, emission of pollutants, intensive agriculture and soil salinization), climate change, and natural resource depletion.
  • Are there any acute environmental issues negatively impacting the lives and livelihoods of affected populations?
  • What are the gender implications of these environmental issues? How are women, girls, men and boys affected differently?
  • What are the geographical implications of the humanitarian setting, e.g. which pristine environments are affected and how?
  • How do environmental issues affect the delivery of humanitarian assistance?
    • For example is there a shortage of natural resources which means materials need to be brought in; is there environmental pollution; or do natural hazards pose risks?
  • What capacities exist at community, local and national level to identify, assess and manage environmental concerns?
  • How might environmental conditions change over time (for example over the next three months) and how could these changes affect humanitarian operations or needs?
• Engage environmental actors to close environmental information gaps.
  • What information on environmental impacts is necessary but missing?
  • Is there information available globally, for example through the Remote Environmental Analysis working group, which aims to strengthen the involvement of environmental actors in remote analysis by quickly identifying and analysing top environmental issues relevant to the crisis or response, and feeding them in to OCHA’s wider remote analysis work. The sooner the environment is considered in humanitarian response, the more it will be mainstreamed.
  • Feed environmental considerations into the Flash Appeal carried out by the in-country humanitarian coordination system (contact OCHA’s country office)
  • Request assistance.
  • Share environmental data and info on the country/crisis in question.
  • The following environmental dimensions and data layers are important to consider:
    • land cover and land use
    • known natural hazards and sources of potential risk to human health (e.g. waste dumps).
    • location of surface- and groundwater (including quality and flow data if possible).
    • location of forests, woodlands and other potential sources of energy.
    • location of environmentally sensitive sites, protected areas and cultural sites.
    • known indigenous land claims, land cadastres and natural resource concession boundaries.
    • distribution of known resource-dependant livelihoods.