The state of the environment, in turn, has a direct bearing on the welfare of communities affected by the crisis. Environmental considerations thus need to be taken into account in almost all aspects of the coordination of humanitarian response. Due to their inherent links with other sectors, environmental issues cannot be dealt with on their own, therefore, environmental guidelines dealing with specific sectors must be used in conjunction with those developed for other sectors. Coordinated planning allows for the formulation of strategic objectives, what needs to be done to meet them, and how much it will cost. This project plan will undoubtedly have environmental impacts, concerning natural and manufactured resources, staff, access to basic services, and more. During this phase, environmental considerations should be integrated by ensuring they are well adapted to the context, well understood, and shared, with the capacity of providing adequate orientation for the whole humanitarian community.

Mainstreaming environment often comes down to how much this is facilitated by coordination. Environmental issues often affect multiple sectors and can therefore be an excellent way to build bridges between sectors and generate and genuinely comprehensive approach to humanitarian needs (for example the links between waste management, livelihoods generation, and renewable energy, or addressing livelihoods or energy needs to reduce protection risks). Identify these links and work across sectors to address them in joined-up strategies;

In the planning phase of a Nutrition response, you or your organization might be one of many working together. Establishing committees based on the subject area of the response sector can help to ensure a high level of participation in the management to deliver aid to those who are most in need and share the environmental, financial, and resource burden. An effective committees system should provide access to local knowledge, facilitate the collection of accurate data for the provision of aid, foster community ownership, and empowerment, enable more efficient programme delivery, and ensure that programmes are tailored to local needs and circumstances.

Eutrophication
Natural resource depletion
Saltwater intrusion
Soil pollution
Water pollution
Water depletion

• Lack of environmental humanitarian standards, good practices, and regulations may exacerbate existing environmental stresses and lead to delayed humanitarian assistance.
• Lack of coherent connected solid waste management, leading to pollution, stockpiling, burning, air pollution, and disease spread.

2. Include environment as an agenda point in meetings for other sectors to raise questions or concerns related to the environment – do not expect that the one environmental agency in the room should cover the entire issue;

3. Promote consortia between humanitarian and environmental agencies;

4. Promote all cross-cutting themes equally;

• Develop a cluster solid waste management plan, asking all agencies to sign up to its commitments and share it widely within their organisations. Share this plan with the Nutrition cluster; look for opportunities to align with existing plans from the WASH or Shelter cluster.

Build community resilience through increasing the abundance of natural resources, reducing waste and pollution, increasing their knowledge and skills around the environment, and building alternative renewable energy, solid waste management, or other green economy livelihoods.

As further guidance, you can refer to the Nutrition Cluster toolkit – https://www.nutritioncluster.net/Coordination_Toolkit

Humanitarian Coordination:

• Gather documentation on current humanitarian crisis and local context – Identify local/national environmental sources of information/analysis (competent national authorities, university, partners…).
• Cluster coordination diagnosis – ensure at national and local level, environmental partners are aware of cluster system, requirement and interest to be involved appropriately.
• Participate in inter-sector humanitarian fora – Environment is a cross-cutting theme by excellence. An integrating environment will foster inter-cluster coordination by allowing to grab opportunities to reduce vulnerabilities and foster communities’ resilience.

SAG and TWiG and partners:

• Integrate environmental concerns into the Cluster and SAG ToRs (using initial reading on situation context analysis, environmental impacts).
• Integrate environmental concerns into TWiGs ToRs – with specific environmental output(s).
• Identify and meet key partners – Include into your identification environmental local partners (university, ministries but also local associations and civil organisation).
• Community consultation and participation are a key part of environmental management, including working with the national and state governmental authorities. Civil society organizations including Universities and local NGOs should be consulted, promoted and their capacities enhanced. People in these organisations have invaluable knowledge and skill in the management of the local environment and will be responsible for building the systems for equitable sustainable management in the future.
• Work plan and strategy:
  Develop environmental key messages to be included into fact sheet (refer to communication and accountability sub-activity)–using initial assessments findings.
• Define and integrate environmental criteria for Sector specific activities and use them to develop the related standards (refer to activity by sub-sectors).
• Integrate Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) into your detailed assessments (refer to Conducting surveys and research sub-activity)
• Environmental indicators into technical documents are systematised and reported into HRP with specific outputs in standard funding cycles.
• Define key environmental sensitivity messages to be included in flash appeal (refer to resources mobilisation sub-activity)
• Define environmental information to be collected and report on (including template and format into Sector Cluster Information Management and tools)
• Integrate environment into PDM tools, Reports and analysis (refer to Monitoring and evaluation activity)
• Ensure long-term environmental impact, mitigation, and prevention strategies are included in the gap analyse.
• The environment is considered into hazards definition of contingency planning with impact and risk definition together with mitigation, prevention measures.

Coordination Team/meetings:

• Ensure the environment is on the agenda of coordination meetings – present outcomes and outputs to monitor sector activities environmental impact
• Share good practices in enhancing the environment as a sector result.
• Include natural resources management plan into the Strategic Operational Framework together with all workstreams of the cluster.
• When applicable, developed environmental enhancement activities to be incorporated into the day-to-day business, such as crops planting activities, development of sustainable waste management systems, establishing a Recycling, Reuse and Repurpose system within the affected community, etc.

Key report findings include the successful experiences of:
a) building direct contact and collaboration between the NGO and wider camp population, in addition to contact via the committee– in order to share key information directly with the population, and understand needs and views of different groups;
b) establishing ongoing monitoring of the camp committees as part of project monitoring;
c) clarifying roles, responsibilities, and code of conduct of the committee, including what the agency expects from the camp committee, and what the camp committee;
d) communicating clearly the roles and responsibilities of the committee to the camp population;
e) establishing complaints and response mechanism;
f) developing guidelines for staff on how to work with the committee(s).