IASC Event on Environmental Assessments and Humanitarian Action
Geneva
Dear Colleagues,
In celebration of World Environment Day, we are pleased to invite you to an IASC Event on Environmental Assessments in Humanitarian Action on Wednesday 7 June, at 9.00-10.30 (NY time) and 15.00-16.30 (Geneva time).
- Venue in New York: S33 Medium Meeting Room 2
- Venue in Geneva: Room S4, Palais des Nations
The Coordinated Assessments for Environment in Humanitarian Action Initiative
Disasters cause both loss of life and damage to the natural capital upon which societal well-being depends. The Coordination of Assessments for Environment in Humanitarian Action initiative aims at improving lives and livelihoods by supporting humanitarian action through coordination with environmental actors both before and after disasters. It is a collaborative effort between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the UN Environment/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Joint Environment Unit (JEU). Specifically, the initiative is working to update key environmental assessment methodologies and enhance their online accessibility, strengthening the inter-connectivity of available tools and clarifying which one(s) are used at a particular stage of humanitarian programming or type of emergency context. Additionally, through better dissemination of tools, resources and environmental data, the project will support efficient consideration of environment and climate knowledge in humanitarian assistance. This event will give participants the opportunity to learn about the project and will provide examples of environmental integration in disaster management programming and operations from a range of humanitarian stakeholders.
Presenters for the briefing
After a short introduction from Mr Jesper Lund, Chief of OCHA’s Emergency Services Branch, presenters for the IASC Event are:
· Mandy George, Team Leader, Coordination of Assessments for Environment in Humanitarian Action
· Georgina Stickels, Environmental Sustainability Manager, World Food Programme
· Tessa Kelly, Senior Officer for Climate Change Coordination, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
· Erika Clesceri, Bureau Environmental Officer, USAID Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance
Dr. Erika Clesceri, a US Government official overseeing environmental safeguards for democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance initiatives with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Dr. Clesceri brings over 25 years of experience in applied scientific research, environmental policy implementation, and international development. She is currently senior Bureau Environmental Officer developing policies to integrate safeguards into humanitarian action in over 35 countries; including for food security, complex crises and vertical–build educational and medical infrastructure. In 2015 year, she supported the Government of Nepal’s post-earthquake Rapid Environmental Assessment, building upon lessons from the 2010 USAID Haiti Rapid Environmental Assessment. She is leading a global effort to reduce losses in agricultural commodity storage through improved use of fumigant pesticide (as in: USAID Programmatic Environmental Assessment), including those used by the UN World Food Programme. She also served on the advisory board for the American Red Cross-World Wildlife Fund Green Recovery and Reconstruction Training (GRRT) Toolkit developed after the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami. While with academia and the federal United States Geological Survey, she conducted field- and molecular tracer-based research on ecosystem stressors along eastern and western seacoasts of the United States, including Alaska. She holds a university degree in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York), with one year in the King’s Building with the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Edinburgh.
Tessa Kelly is an Australian with a background in public international law. In her current role in Geneva, she seeks to coordinate various functions of the IFRC Secretariat and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre to build the IFRC’s work, capacity and positioning on climate change. Prior to this role, she led the IFRC’s global work on law and disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and community preparedness. She has previously coordinated the IFRC’s Disaster law Programme for the Asia Pacific region in Kuala Lumpur, and worked at the country level in Viet Nam and Lao PDR the field of law and policy for disaster risk management and climate change adaptation.
Mandy George is team leader for the “Coordinated Assessments for Environment in Humanitarian Action” initiative, a collaborative effort among the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the UN Environment/Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Joint Environment Unit (JEU). Her background is in the greening of humanitarian operations as well as in community engagement and accountability. She has been working in the humanitarian sector for over ten years, largely with the Red Cross Movement as well as with the Joint UNOCHA/UNEP Environment Unit on their environment in humanitarian action portfolio. She has also worked with various parts of the Red Cross Movement to develop and implement minimum standards for quality and accountability of humanitarian operations, most recently with the IFRC both in Myanmar and globally. She has a Masters degree in Environment and Development from Kings College in London. Her particular area of interest remains on the cross section between the humanitarian and the environmental and the role that community engagement plays in this.
Georgina Stickels is the Environmental Sustainability Manager at WFP, charged with fostering a culture of environmental sustainability across WFP and co-ordinating efforts to mainstream the measuring and management of environmental impacts from WFP’s operations globally, including energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water and waste. She has more than fifteen years’ experience in environmental advice and programme management roles, spanning private consulting, government-funded participatory programmes and legislative compliance fieldwork. Georgina is a Chartered Environmentalist and Full Member of the UK-based Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). She holds a Master of Social Science (Environment and Planning) from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
Logistics information
Dial-in: For those who cannot attend the meeting in person, please dial the following number +41 22 917 0900; code: 71438. Please remember to put your microphone on mute (not hold) when you are not speaking.
Important security information: If you do not have a badge to enter the UN buildings in Geneva or New York, please inform the IASC Secretariat by sending us an e-mail including your name and organization COB Monday 5 June to iasccorrespondence@un.org. Please bring your passport to present to security on the day of the meeting.