Managing Disasters → Environmental concerns in disasters

Environmental concerns in disasters

The environmental impact of natural disasters and conflicts present a number of threats to response and recovery.

Threats during response...	Threats to early recovery....
To life - through hazardous chemicals, infrastructure e.g. dams, nuclear plants To health - through toxic waste and short and long term impacts	To livelihoods - damage to forests, soil, pastures, wetlands, reefs To security - fragility of ecosystem and threat to human security, increased conflict over limited resources

Equally, response and recovery activities can pose a serious threat to the environment.

Early analysis of the potential impacts is needed to identify mitigation strategies.

Adverse impacts of disaster response

Sectors	Environmental impact risks	Key considerations for response Presence and disposal of hazardous materials Management of emergency waste Capacity of water sources in short and long term Sanitation design Energy consumption demands and available resources Refugee/IDP camps size, siting and long term impact Transport pollution Opportunities for green procurement Applicable standards and guidelines e.g. Sphere Getting expert guidance in assessments, material selection and project design
Health	Improper management of chemicals, water, healthcare waste, dead bodies.
WASH	Damage to aquifers; water contamination from sewage; poor rehabilitation of wells; inappropriate systems e.g. septic tanks.
Shelter	Unsustainable construction materials e.g. timber, burnt bricks, sand; inappropriate site selection or design; deforestation and soil erosion; improper disposal of waste or debris.
Camp management	Land degradation; loss of biodiversity; improper waste and chemical disposal; unsustainable use of fuel and materials; poor management/decommissioning of camps and pit latrines.
Logistics	Poor management and disposal of oil, fuel, tyres; improper waste disposal, procurement of goods produced in an unsustainable way.
Early recovery	Failure to conduct environmental impact assessment; inappropriate land use, building /infrastructure designs and urban planning; unsustainable use of natural resources for reconstruction/livelihoods; unequal access to resources.

Factors affecting the severity of environmental impacts

Geographic	Social	Environmental
population density number of people affected or displaced, extent of disaster area availability of resources	level of self-sufficiency support from host communities respect for environment social / power structures livelihood options	environmental resilience and sustainability i.e. ability to withstand negative impacts and recover ability to absorb waste