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Humanitarian Partnerships
Green Reconstruction Principles
© WWF
“Green reconstruction aims to improve the quality of life for communities affected by disaster by minimizing the negative impacts of reconstruction on the environment and maintaining long-term biological diversity and productivity of natural systems.”
Why Green Reconstruction?
In 2005, the combined effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulted in the largest single forestry disaster on record in the US, destroying 320 millions trees. The 2004 tsunami resulted in the loss of 400 acres of coastal aquaculture area in India; 118,700 acres in Indonesia; over $100 million in Thailand’s aquaculture operations and $6.3 million worth of damage to coastal aquaculture and seafood production in Malaysia. On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis slammed into the coast of Myanmar, resulting in extraordinary human loss which could have been mitigated by proper environmental management.
These are just a few examples of headline grabbing natural disasters, but the reality is that floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions and drought occur everyday, affecting ecosystems and communities all over the globe. At World Wildlife Fund, we understand that natural disasters have to be factored into the conservation equation, just like other global forces like climate change, agricultural expansion and deforestation. We also understand that, in order to effectively manage natural disasters, conservation and humanitarian organizations can achieve more by working together.
By providing technical advisory assistance to humanitarian agencies, such as the American Red Cross and CARE, WWF’s Humanitarian Partnerships team is helping break communities out of the disaster cycle by creating communities and ecosystems that are more resilient, sustainable, productive and less vulnerable to the impact of future disasters.
© WWF
Why now?
Between 1996 and 2005 over 6,400 natural and man-made disasters occurred globally, affecting over 2.5 billion people-and representing a 60 percent increase from the previous two decades. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, extreme weather events, such as droughts and cyclones, will become more severe in the future as the climate becomes warmer.
All one has to do is turn on the television or open a newspaper to be bombarded with human and environmental suffering at the hands of increasingly intense hazards. What turns these hazards into disasters is significant human, economic and environmental loss. Often times, pre-existing environmental problems, such as deforestation and poor spatial planning, exacerbate the impact of disasters on communities and the environment, and, more times than not, disasters set back conservation goals. Now is the time for conservationists, humanitarians, local governments, protected area managers and communities around the world to focus their attention on making “green” a priority in the post-disaster rebuilding process.
Green Reconstruction Principles
© WWF
The following four sets of general cross-cutting policies are fundamental to the successful implementation of any post-disaster reconstruction activity. Together, these four principles provide for achieving sustainable development:
Mainstreaming environment: Environmental concerns should be integrated into all aspects of reconstruction activities and strategies including through aiming to improve the quality of life for communities and affected individuals while minimizing the negative impacts of reconstruction on the environment and maintaining the long-term biological diversity and productivity of natural systems.
Building strong legitimate local institutions: Recovery from the socio-economic, cultural and livelihood impacts of the tsunami will be strengthened by building strong local institutions and making them self-reliant in carrying out sustainable development programs to enhance their well-being and ensure environment sustainability.
Following a spatial plan: An overall spatial plan should ensures that reconstruction efforts have minimum negative environmental impact and promote positive choices during the reconstruction process that optimize environmental goods and services as well as development and livelihood opportunities.
Building good governance: The governance of the reconstruction process (including planning, implementation and evaluation) should be transparent, accountable and include the effective participation of local communities.
© WWF
The provision of targets, principles, guidelines and examples of “green” rehabilitation and reconstruction best practices allows decision makers and policy makers to choose options that provide for long-term sustainable development, thereby ensuring that the end result of reconstruction is enduring and supported by local stakeholders. The advice in these Green Reconstruction Policy Guidelines takes the form of strategies, actions and indicators of success, based on experience and current models of best practice. Priority areas include:
• Ensuring the use of sustainably sourced materials (including timber) in reconstruction.
• Rebuilding an energy sector that uses clean and renewable sources of energy.
• Rebuilding small-scale fisheries and aquaculture sectors that result in models of sustainable fisheries management.
• Providing for the rehabilitation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems, and ensuring that reconstruction does not cause further negative impacts.
• Minimizing the overall ecological footprint of reconstruction on the natural environment.
Read the complete WWF's Green Reconstruction Policy Guidelines (PDF, 70.7KB)
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