Climate Change, Environment and Natural Resource Management at Mercy Corps

Disasters like the Indian Ocean Tsunami often have continuing environmental effects for already-vulnerable families, like these farmers in India. Photo: John Stephens/Mercy Corps

Climate change poses one of the gravest threats to humankind. Our future is going to be shaped by changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, crop insecurity and health hazards, linked to the spread of insect-borne diseases into new locations.

Although there are going to be global implications, the severest impacts are going to be felt among the poorest nations in the world - yet these countries are the least responsible for creating the problem. Not only will global warming disproportionately affect tropical latitudes, but a profound lack of coping mechanisms means that these communities will not be able to adapt to the new threats facing them and their livelihoods.

As a leading humanitarian aid agency, Mercy Corps has a responsibility to look at how we can ensure that the impacts of climate change do not eradicate the progress that has been achieved to date in targeting poverty. We also have a duty to help communities adapt to some of the predicted changes that will impact their lives. Finally, we have a role to play in mitigating the threat of conflict that is likely to arise over diminishing access to vital resources in some regions.

Mercy Corps has identified this as an urgent strategic priority and is tackling it in a number of ways. In addition to getting our own house in order (through calculating our carbon footprint and looking at ways to cut our carbon emissions), we are working alongside the University of Edinburgh to undertake research that will help us to make relevant adaptations to our country programmes to take climate change into account.

We are also planning to take to scale a range of pilot programs focusing on community based Disaster Risk Reduction measures in urban environments, with a particular focus on job creation and income generation for unemployed or under-employed youth.

This work will be tied in with our existing environmental focus, which is integral part of Mercy Corps programming and a major consideration in almost every aspect of the work we carry out.

Mercy Corps is especially aware, and concerned with, environmental issues as they pertain to - and affect - marginalized populations such as refugees and extremely poor families. In places like Guatemala, affected by a civil war that lasted four decades, we're implementing programs that assist war-affected families in resolving issues related to conflict, resettlement, agricultural systems, natural resource access and other rights. Land tenure, access and water supply are major causes of conflict; by promoting sound stewardship of the environment, Mercy Corps seeks to defuse future wars and crises.

Other environmental issues of concern include:

Natural resource-based disasters
In countries including Guatemala, rapid deforestation is a threat to communities, as it leaves slopes susceptible to landslides that can often destroy communities. As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of storms, this trend can be seen as a quickly growing global problem. Natural disaster mitigation is currently a major focus of Mercy Corps planning.

Refugees, internally displaced people and their environment
The environment around refugee and displacement camps is often severely degraded as families seek fuel wood, animal fodder and food. This calls natural resource management and conflict issues to the forefront, especially in relation to host communities. Mercy Corps is seeking to find ways to mitigate environmental damage while giving refugees and displaced populations to natural resources they need to survive.

Watershed management and water scarcity
Water issues provide the foundation for increasingly complex problems. Water scarcity challenges agricultural programming, for example. It forms the basis for drought and other natural disasters. Increasingly, it provides dramatic scope for local, national and international conflict. Mercy Corps has expertise in working in all these areas, and is formulating strategies to address the growing water problem.