VEHA
Guidance
Guidance
Virtual Environmental and Humanitarian Adviser Tool – (VEHA Tool) is a tool
to easily integrate environmental considerations in humanitarian response. Field Implementation guidances are useful for the design and execution of humanitarian activities in the field.
Market analysis assesses which elements of markets are functioning and which elements need repair, strengthening, or temporary alternatives whilst markets recover. Failure to map markets can cause protraction of humanitarian crises and associated environmental stresses.
Where markets fail, people are often forced into environmentally unsustainable coping mechanisms.
If markets are not operating normally, people may not be able to access or afford food, and sales/purchasing will reduce. This may force people into non-viable coping mechanisms such as unsustainable use of local environmental resources to meet household needs and to raise additional income.
Reduced crop yields and reducing the availability of natural resources in some areas usually result in higher food prices and reduced household income for people whose livelihoods we are trying to support due to the potential increase in damage to agricultural production.
Recognizing the role that women play in supporting established markets and helping them to take an active role in identifying potential environmental impact and coping mechanisms.
Support and open markets that benefit particularly women addressing their specific needs and interests.
Air pollution
Soil pollution
Water pollution
Deforestation
Desertification
Climate change
Loss of biodiversity and ecosystems
Natural Resource Depletion
Soil erosion
Environmentally unsustainable coping mechanisms often include:
· Cutting of trees and other flora for sale to meet livelihood deficits
· Hunting of animals, birds, and insects for food
· Scavenging for wild crops, honey, etc damaging ecosystems
· Over abstraction of water resources to meet household needs
· Additional air pollution from transportation of items not produced locally for markets or for humanitarian needs.
People do not want to deplete the natural resources within their local environment if they have alternatives. When markets fail, many people are forced to rely on natural resources to survive.
Environmentally unsustainable coping mechanisms often include cutting of trees to use as firewood, make charcoal, use for construction or sell in local markets; stripping other vegetation for sale to meet livelihood deficits, for food or as herbal remedies for family sickness; hunting of animals, birds, and insects for food, depleting their numbers, sometimes causing local extinctions; scavenging for wild crops, honey, etc damaging ecosystems; over-abstraction of water resources to meet household needs, often leading to sickness if water is contaminated.
Market attempts to recover are likely to include additional air pollution from transportation of items not produced locally. Humanitarian response will add to this pollution from importing food and non-food items.
Environmental mapping of natural resources, fragile ecosystems, environmental hazards, pollution.
Ensure humanitarian activities do not push people into harmful coping mechanisms
Gather environmental information from local environmental specialists
Community participator mapping of markets and environmental linkages, including observed environmental changes prior to, during, and since the crisis
Assess all planned humanitarian interventions not just your organisation
Ensure market mapping identifies what is needed, available, its quality, and include assessment of its environmental impact
Minimum expenditure baskets (MEB), including mapping where items can be sourced sustainably, as locally as possible to support local markets.
Design livelihood response activities to meet local consumption needs sustainably
Ensure livelihoods responses include protection and restoration of the environment
Assess the sustainability of small animal livestock projects
Work with the WASH sector to monitor, protect and replenish local water resources, Identifying ways for livelihoods to conserve and capture, and re-use water.
Assess pollution from market and humanitarian response items and support production of local alternatives.
Ensure environmental mapping of natural resources, fragile ecosystems, environmental hazards, pollution, and use this information to inform the design of livelihood response activities.
Ensure humanitarian activities do not push people into additional environmentally harmful coping mechanisms. Gather environmental information from local environmental specialists. Consider potential long-term environmental impacts (beyond the project lifetime).
Work with the local community to develop a participative mapping environmental findings, this includes local producers, market stakeholders, local government, line ministry staff, and other organisations’ members. This is critical to ensure assessment has identified key environmental trends of intervention. Try to collect first-hand environmental information from a range of traders and consumers. In addition, make sure to cross-check your environmental assumptions with market actors. Include protection of natural resources in the analysis.
Questions about the quality and sustainability of products available on the market (where they are produced, packaging, etc.), about sustainable energy, or about environmental issues could be added to criteria such as the accessibility of markets, and the availability and price of goods and services. Assess the sum of all planned humanitarian interventions (and not just your organisation) and their potential impact on environment. Focus on environmental factors that affect key market functions (the signals, drivers, barriers, and relationships within the market system). Draw conclusions and recommendations that integrate the Do No Harm approach, preventing and mitigating potential environmental negative impacts of your planned intervention. Conduct information/awareness campaigns on market saturation and opportunities.
Map and analyse local markets to understand what is needed, available, its quality, and include assessment of its environmental impact.
Put together minimum expenditure baskets (MEB) to understand household minimum needs and map where these can be obtained sustainably, locally to support local markets, and only import items that cannot be procured locally in sufficient quantity and quality. Triangulate data collected using different methods and from different sources.—Analyse trends rather than individual data points, taking into account seasonal effects.—When drawing conclusions, clearly state the assumptions, the type of data on which they are based, and any risks that may be linked to the assumptions.— Clearly show the link between the analysis, conclusions, and the ultimate response recommendations.
Ensure your livelihoods response includes protection and restoration of the environment, including tree nurseries and planting indigenous trees including fruit trees. Find ways of protecting trees such as donating one to each home where feasible. Similarly, look for opportunities to restore other flora and fauna. Explore opportunities to develop local livelihoods that are environmentally restorative, such as beekeeping, forest management, gamekeepers, conditional livestock programmes such as donating ducks or chickens with a requirement for offspring to be donated to other families to increase household income and food security.
Work with the WASH sector to monitor, protect and replenish local water resources, including identifying ways for livelihoods to conserve and capture, and re-use water.
Assess pollution from market and humanitarian response items and support production of local alternatives.
Lessons have been learned that poorly implemented humanitarian livelihoods assistance damages local markets. Prices can plummet and local livelihoods fail, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and environmental stresses.
Market analysis can quickly identify which elements of markets are functioning and which elements need strengthening to help markets recover.
If markets are not operating normally, people may not be able to access or afford food, and sales/purchasing will reduce. This may force people into non-viable coping mechanisms such as unsustainable use of local environmental resources to meet household needs and to raise additional income. Reduced crop yields and reducing the availability of natural resources in some areas usually results in higher food prices and reduced household income for people whose livelihoods we are trying to support due to the potential increase in damage to agricultural production.
In data interpretation, environmental criteria are included.
Programme design include environmental criteria based on findings of the market analysis
Prevention of environmental damage
Mitigation of environmental damage
This will not require additional resources to the ones planned for the existing market analysis process. However, this requires the manager to look at their analysis through an environmental lens.