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.
Training support for cash grants can ensure that income-generating activities reduce their impacts on the environment, or even provide benefits to the environment.
Promoting women’s empowerment by offering safe income alternatives, building knowledge and fostering independence
Air pollution
Soil pollution
Water pollution
Deforestation
Desertification
Eutrophication
Climate change
Loss of biodiversity and ecosystems
Natural Resource Depletion
Impact on wellbeing / mental health
The quality of training to support income-generating activity cash grants will directly influence environmental impacts, including the sustainability of natural resource use, potential air, water, and soil pollution, solid waste production, re-use, recycling or pollution and disease vectors; sustainable sourcing of inputs; water and energy use; potential for chemical pollution.
Training will directly influence the environmental impacts of Income Generating Activities. Effective or poor training will influence the amount of air, water, and soil pollution produced; solid waste generation and management – including whether the waste is minimised, reused, repurposed, recycled, dumped, or burned.
The effectiveness of training will influence energy use and energy types, whether ecosystems are protected and whether harmful chemicals or additives are used and whether efficient transport, storage, and distribution happen.
Make grants conditional on achieving agreed environmental objectives.
Include training on:
· sustainable sourcing of inputs
· re-use of waste as inputs
· developing livelihoods in renewable energy
· identifying potential air, water, and soil pollution, solid waste production, water, and energy use
Create innovation learning hubs
Include training on identifying and accessing green economy sector jobs
Training should be provided alongside the provision of cash grants for Income Generating Activities. The quality of this training will have a substantial impact on livelihood’s environmental impacts. This should be assessed and addressed within the training plan to ensure negative environmental impacts are minimised and benefits maximised.
Include an assessment of where inputs/materials / natural resources will be obtained from. Look for opportunities to re-use waste from other livelihoods, such as plastic for creating insulation or building blocks for construction, or for processing to make clothing, bags, storage containers.
Support affected populations with green economy livelihoods such as supplying, installing, or maintaining renewable energy – solar, hydro, wind, wave power generation.
Create innovation learning hubs and encourage people to share ideas, collaborate and support each other to develop low impact, profitable businesses.
Identify potential air, water, and soil pollution, solid waste production, water, and energy use and set grant recipients conditions on achieving efficiencies in order to receive the next stage of a grant.
Promote and facilitate access to training programmes focused on learning new, and adapting existing, working skills, based on market assessments.
· TRAINING AND DIRECT INTEGRATION, to be adopted with large employers who work in the Infrastructure Stage of the circular economy.
· TRAINING AND INDIRECT INTEGRATION, to be adopted with small employers that typically work in the Consumption and Services Stage of the circular economy.
· INCENTIVE TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ASSOCIATION, as a way to co-build decent working conditions in the Extraction, Production, Recovery and Return stages of the circular economy.
· Training in entrepreneurial/self-led learning skills. Consider setting up a local innovation hub with some basic conditions on attendance/supporting each other before they can receive part 2 of the cash grant.
Supply production sectors lacking skilled labor and introduce sustainable techniques.
· Some employers, usually working in the Infrastructure Sector, have a wide range of green jobs (tens to thousands of jobs per company). These jobs are mostly formal, with basic human rights ensured and medium-high pay. They cover professionals with different levels of education and, in general, require short (hours or days) or long (weeks or months) technical training.
· Many small employers, usually working in the Consumer and Services Sector, have a limited supply of green jobs (1 to 2 jobs per company). These jobs are a mix of formal and informal, with basic human rights ensured and medium-low pay. They cover professionals with different levels of education and, in general, require short technical training (hours or days) or “on-the-job” training.
· In this context, there is a variety of labor relations (ex:micro-entrepreneurship, cooperatives, self-employed workers). As a general rule, the level of formalisation is low. Whether in the “Extraction and Production” or the “Recovery and Return” sector, there is no established offer of formal green jobs. There are many reports of basic human rights violations and, in general, the pay is low.
Support to Yazidi and Christian returnees in Iraq has illustrated how vocational training provided alongside the provision of cash grants has helped people to build livelihoods in ways that have lower environmental impacts whilst delivering high-quality products and services.
# of IGA trainings where environmental impact of IGA activities is assessed and training shared on reducing them
Prevention of environmental damage
Mitigation of environmental damage
Time and resources to assess livelihood opportunities, environmental impacts, and design training to encourage the identification and reduction of environmental impacts.