Executive committee

1. UNHCR has been actively engaged for over a decade in environmental conservation issues in the context of operations for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees. Interventions undertaken by UNHCR and its partners have run through all stages, from initial contingency planning, emergency response and care and maintenance, to return and reintegration, camp closure and rehabilitation. The Office has recognized that the presence of refugees and IDPs can have a damaging impact on the environment, especially where displaced populations are large in size and confined to ecologically fragile areas. Over the years, UNHCR has introduced activities and programmes aimed at mitigating such impacts and promoting adaptation to resource-scarce environments. UNHCR’s Environmental Guidelines (originally issued in 1996 and revised in 2005), are based on four principles: integration, prevention-beforecure, cost-effectiveness, and local participation. Respect for these principles is all the more critical as the effects of climate change put additional strains on many countries and areas hosting large populations of refugees, returnees and/or internally displaced persons.