The new Issue Management Group aims to ensure that the environment is considered in humanitarian contexts, by highlighting interlinkages among environmental, humanitarian, human rights, development and security goals.
The Group was established based on the outcomes of a Nexus Dialogue on the Integration of the Environment into Humanitarian Action that convened on 19 October 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland.
4 April 2018: The Environment Management Group (EMG) announced the establishment of a new Issue Management Group on Environment and Humanitarian Action. The IMG focuses on the links between environmental management and humanitarian operations in the context of delivering on the SDGs.
The group was established based on the outcomes of a Nexus Dialogue on the Integration of the Environment into Humanitarian Action, on 19 October 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland. The first meeting of the Issue Management Group took place on 28 February 2018, where participants discussed the proposed Terms of Reference, including deliverables related to common environmental safeguards and standards, and a study on quantifying the costs of inaction for integrating environmental considerations in humanitarian interventions.
The Group will promote collaboration within the UN and with other relevant organizations in the humanitarian and environment sectors. It will foster the exchange of experiences on integrating environmental considerations into humanitarian action at the policy and programme levels. Among its specific aims are to: ensure that the environment is considered in humanitarian contexts, by highlighting interlinkages among environmental, humanitarian, human rights, development and security goals; enhance access to guidance, tools, standards and collaboration mechanisms related to environmental assessments and good practices in humanitarian action; promote a common approach to environmental safeguards and project-level environmental assessment tools for humanitarian action; support the UN system in making better informed decisions on humanitarian interventions by looking at hidden costs and externalities of inaction, as well as the benefits of integrating environment into humanitarian action; and prepare advocacy materials, including related to the impacts of climate change on humanitarian outcomes. [Issue Management Group on Environment and Humanitarian Action] [Nexus Dialogue on the Integration of the Environment into Humanitarian Action] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on IMG background]