CategoriesResources

IASC Task Force SAFE

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Note: Additional SAFE workshops are pending in Nairobi, Khartoum, Kampala, Goma and Bangkok. Please email iasc@fuelnetwork.org if you are interested in receiving updates once the workshops are scheduled.

Beyond Firewood

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Public Awareness (IEC)

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Young girls are disproportionately kept from school in order to collect firewood. Schools are typically constructed of wood, further depleting area resources, and often use firewood for school feeding programs and/or heating. Formal and non-formal educational opportunities/information management structures may not be sufficiently used to teach fuel-efficient cooking techniques, benefits of environmental conservation, etc.

Food & Nutrition

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Lack of safe access to sufficient cooking fuel can lead to unsafe cooking techniques which can also negatively impact nutritional intake. These negative impacts include: selling portions of rations to buy fuel and/or to mill food; trading rations for more appropriate/easier to cook food items; undercooking food to save time/fuel (which can lead to foodborne disease); skipping meals; use of unsafe/inappropriate fuel sources (plastic, etc.), leading to acute/chronic diseases; and improperly cooking unfamiliar food items, reducing nutritional uptake.

2008 Conference Conference Papers and Presentations

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Camp Coordination & Camp Management

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Environmental degradation caused/exacerbated by the harvesting of firewood/fodder/shelter materials by concentrated displaced populations may be of concern to host governments, increase political pressures and cause tensions with hosts, as well as force increased competition for scarce biomass resources between livestock grazing and access to firewood. Tensions may also arise over property rights. Such tensions are likely to increase over time and can lead to retribution/attacks on firewood collectors/displaced communities. Poorly designed shelters/cooking structures also increase the risk of house fires.

Shelter

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Excessive reliance on wood-based construction materials for shelters and other camp structures can exacerbate environmental degradation around camps, increasing tensions with hosts and forcing women and girls to travel great distances to find firewood, increasing their risk of attack; poorly-ventilated shelters increase indoor air pollution (IAP) and associated health problems and can increase the risk of house fires; poorly-designed shelters can result in heat loss and accompanying excessive use of fuel for heating; NFI distributions may not include appropriate clothing/blankets resulting in reliance on cooking fuel for heating purposes, or may not include items to support fuel-efficiency (such as pot lids); improper site selection/planning can negatively impact local fuel consumption and increase tensions with host communities, possibly leading to retribution/attack on firewood collectors.

Legal Instruments/Guidelines

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Health

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The use of biomass fuels for cooking/heating leads to high levels of air pollution, especially when burnt on traditional stoves indoors. Women and children are disproportionately affected by IAP. Families and especially children are at risk of burns and death resulting from fires caused by improper use/storage of cooking fuels or poorly designed shelters. GBV and physical assault during firewood collection can cause lasting physical and psycho-social damage and; frequently carrying heavy loads of firewood over long distances also has negative health consequences. Undercooking because of lack of fuel can lead to foodborne disease; use of unsafe fuel sources can lead to acute/chronic diseases. Access to clean/sufficient household energy is also important for care of HIV/AIDS patients and health care in general. increased risk of contracting HIV.

Environment

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Environmental degradation caused/exacerbated by the harvesting of firewood/fodder/shelter materials by concentrated displaced populations lengthens the distance women/girls must travel outside of camps to collect firewood, putting them at greater risk of attack. Environmental degradation can result in soil erosion, flash-flooding, surface water pollution and loss of natural habitat, possibly limiting livelihoods opportunities and negatively impacting food security, in addition to increasing tensions with hosts over access to/availability of natural resources, possibly leading to retribution/attacks on firewood collectors.

Interventions

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Protection

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Lack of firewood/fodder/shelter materials near areas of displacement means that women/children must travel great distances to find firewood, increasing risk of physical/sexual attack. Women/girls who cannot collect firewood (due to disability; urban location, etc.) may have to buy fuel and therefore may be forced to sell food rations and/or are at increased risk of sexual exploitation. Children who have to collect wood may be forced to leave school. Women often work long hours because of the distances they are forced to travel to collect wood, threatening overall welfare and depriving them of time for productive activities, including livelihoods activities and education.

Regions

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Ressources en Français

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