Disaster prevention refers to measures designed to prevent natural or socio-political events and processes from resulting in disasters. FAO activities in this area focus on reducing vulnerability to such events in the food and agriculture sectors. Prevention is closely related to mitigation, a generic term that includes all measures taken to reduce the damage, disruption and causalities of a hazard, and therefore comprises both prevention and preparedness, as well as impact-reducing measures taken after a disaster has occurred.
Prevention measures often form part of longer-term programmes to promote resilience and sustainability. Examples of agriculture-specific prevention and mitigation measures include: crop and livestock diversification; plant breeding for short cycle crops resistant to drought, diseases and pest attacks; pest and disease control measures; improved rangeland and water management; floodplain zoning and control; land terracing; soil conservation; planting of shelterbelts or windbreaks; improved coastal fishing practices; afforestation; forest management; sand dune stabilisation; improved food storage and preservation; etc. Some of these are further explained in the section below.
Prevention and Mitigation: What FAO does
FAO has established an Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) with the following four main activity areas: |
Crop diversification can improve the resilience of farming systems to adverse climatic conditions, declining soil fertility or shrinking arable land availability per household. By spreading the risks associated with crop cultivation across a wider range of crops and crop characteristics, the likelihood of total crop failure is reduced. It offers opportunities for improvements in nutritional status though access to a greater year-round diversity of foods and reduction in micro-nutrient deficiencies, and can be combined with promotion of improved food utilisation through attention to the storage, processing, preservation and preparation aspects of these food crops.
FAO's Crop and Grassland Service (AGPC) provides technical assistance to promote crop diversification for smallholder farmers. This presents smallholders with a greater range of choices for crops and varieties. These must:
Evaluation of the potential for diversification considers scope for improvements that are either "horizontal" or "vertical". Horizontal improvements entail the expansion of the range of crops/varieties through expanding crop areas and more intensive use of existing areas. Vertical improvements are ones which expand the range of processing and marketing systems for a crop commodity. While adopting an overall farming systems approach, diversification studies consider technical, economic, nutritional and cultural aspects of crops, livestock and agro-industrial enterprises. Diversification activities should also touch on the interactions between these aspects and consider the implications of diversification from the farm level, sub-national and national point of view. They also take into account the fact that in many rural areas, particularly in food insecure areas or periods, food systems of resource-poor households depend on off-farm as well as farming activities.
FAO's Farm Management and Production Economics Service (AGSP) performs three major functions. It provides technical assistance for analysis of existing farming systems. It evaluates prospects for wider adoption of a variety of crops or new varieties which meet technical, economic, nutritional and cultural criteria of acceptability within specific farming systems. Finally, AGSP supports `adaptive' agricultural research efforts to develop or test new crops or varieties, and extension work to bring them to the attention of farmers.
FAO attaches particular importance to promoting the production and consumption of drought tolerant food crops in areas where rainfall is uncertain. This in some cases involves redressing tendencies that were widespread in agricultural development programmes during the 1970s and 1980s. In that period, `green revolution' packages involving high-yield hybrids or composites were promoted in pursuit of higher overall production levels. This strategy often didn't identify the risks inherent in adopting varieties that do not perform well under conditions of moisture stress. Shifts in the cropping system may also entail a shift in food consumption habits and raise the need for support to maintain nutritionally balanced diets. Such support may be provided through nutrition education activities. Support could be furnished for example, in the context of local level planning workshops for the formulation of drought mitigation plans.
In many instances, drought-tolerant food plants that were traditionally used have been substituted in recent decades by other crops or varieties and some are now perceived negatively. Nutrition education programmes in this case could include the promotion of underexploited traditional foods (including production/collection, storage, processing, preparation and consumption) involving a shift in food habits back to formerly familiar foods, rather than introduction of new ones. FAO's Nutrition Programmes Service (ESNP) in collaboration with AGPC supports such programmes.
The activities of FAO's Water Resources Development and Management Service (AGLW) are grouped around four priority programmes and two special initiatives, each of which promotes capacities for preventing drought-induced disaster.
The four priority water programmes are:
Two special water initiatives are:
Data on rural water use are being collected, analysed and added to the AQUASTAT database, an information system on water in agriculture and rural development which produces country profiles on water resources development with emphasis on irrigation and drainage. The database, already completed for Africa, is being extended to other parts of the world. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based hydrological simulation model for river basin planning is being developed jointly with the University of Texas at Austin, and applied initially to the Niger River Basin and subsequently to other African river basins. Technical assistance is provided for the assessment of national irrigation potential. This information is currently being updated for Africa in cooperation with other UN agencies for a global freshwater assessment. Capacity-building activities include training in the monitoring of rural water use and support for a network for the continuous updating and refinement of information.
FAO is developing methodologies for water policy reviews and reforms to assist member countries in conducting such reviews, formulating adequate legislation and building capacities to manage water resources. FAO monitors the impact of water policy reforms and provides a forum for the discussion of issues relating to international rivers through regional seminars. The aforementioned hydrological model will be used to assess effects of upstream water use on downstream countries. Guidelines for river basin management and planning are being developed.
FAO is developing an integrated package of improved water use technologies and management tools to assist member countries in formulating appropriate national strategies. This includes technical assistance for introduction of water-efficient technologies, better management structures and ways to establish accountability and incentives at both farm and scheme levels. Methods include:
The emphasis is on capacity-building through training programmes, seminars, networking and information sharing among national and regional research and development agencies, including:
Focusing on protection of soil and water quality, activities include reviews of methodologies for rapid assessment of salinity on a regional scale and guidelines formulated for control of agricultural water pollution. Disease vectors in irrigation are developed through the Inter-Agency Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for Disease Vector Control (PEEM). Assistance is given to establish regional centres of excellence on water re-use.
This initiative aims to develop a strategy for water management. It involves the expansion of irrigation from simple water harvesting to modern piped irrigation for the improvement of food security. FAO is provides policy advice in Africa. It assists in developing sector strategies and investment plans, introducing low-cost technologies, and developing innovative approaches to resources mobilisation and capacity-building in planning and management. Priorities are:
Many of the foregoing activities take place within the framework of FAO's Special Action Programme on Water and Sustainable Agricultural Development (SAP-WASAD), which is a response to Agenda 21 in relation to water resource management. It aims to assist member countries to achieve food security and sustainable agricultural development through formulation and implementation of national action plans. The SAP-WASAD ensures a multi-disciplinary approach to the management of rural water within FAO, and for effective interagency monitoring.
FAO's Forest Resources Division (FOR) promotes the use of drought tolerant tree species. It does this through the regulation of planting densities and thinning aimed at an optimum spacing. As a result of these actions, resilient trees are produced which limit evaporation thus minimising drought losses. Agro-forestry systems can provide protection for crops through shading and reduce drought-induced erosion; also sylvi-pastoral systems can provide important fodder resources in arid and semi-arid areas. FAO also supports field activities to develop these potentials.
Planting of forestry windbreaks or shelterbelts which reduce wind-induced evaporation in crops and wind erosion of arable soils are also being promoted, as well as a range of forestry systems for sand dune stabilisation and the control of desertification.
FAO's Animal Production Service (AGAP) and its Crop and Grasslands Service (AGPC) are working together to develop strategies and provide technical assistance for improving management of rangelands. This backing is valuable to the owners of livestock who depend very heavily on this land. The Services are planning a series of regional studies on options for supporting the capacity of rangefed livestock systems to cope with drought. This work covers two essential aspects of developing improved rangeland management:
Range Resource Inventories Effective rangeland management must be based on an inventory of climatic, soil, water and vegetation/fodder resources, covering:
Documenting Dominant Livestock Production Systems and Livestock-based Livelihoods Main livestock production systems and their role in livelihoods must be documented with parameters which include:
There must be an understanding of the impact of drought on rangeland resources and the management strategies used by livestock owners in response to this. These may include:
Similarly, responses to a return to more normal climatic conditions must be assessed. This is done in terms of rates of overall biomass and species-specific recovery of rangelands, and rates of post-drought herd recovery for different locations and livestock types. The latter includes recovery of weight and condition of animals and/or recovery of herd numbers through natural regrowth or restocking. If depletion has been severe, absolute natural regrowth is likely to be small relative to the minimum off-take required to sustain pastoralists' livelihoods, while prices of livestock for restocking may be very high. Under these conditions recovery may be slow, and there may be long-term changes in, or in extreme cases complete abandonment of, livestock production systems.
Analysis of the foregoing factors provides a basis for developing strategies for supporting efficient exploitation of rangeland resources in non-drought periods. This is aimed at making livestock production systems less sensitive to drought and more capable of recovery after drought. Its goal is to minimise conflict over grazing and other resources. Such strategies must take into account whether or not rangeland fodder production is limited mainly by grazing. This is often the case in humid and sub-humid zones due to the high temporal and spatial variability of rainfall in semi-arid and arid areas.
In the latter case, it may be that the most efficient and sustainable exploitation of rangeland resources comes from allowing pastoralists to:
The scope for cost-effective improvements in the efficiency of extensive systems of rangeland exploitation is limited. Population growth, progressive encroachment of cultivation, transformation of ranches and parks into rangelands, restrictions on mobility and the depletion of herds are forcing changes in the balance between livestock and other income sources in pastoralist livelihoods. An issue that needs to be addressed in rangeland planning is that of supporting diversification in pastoral livelihoods. This should not be accomplished through abrupt or coercive sedentarization programmes but through supporting pastoralists' own efforts to develop alternatives gradually.
Such changes have major implications in terms of both food habits and health. This is because access to different types of foods undergoes radical modifications and both the environment and access to health services are modified. Promotion of alternative diets and care practices is needed to mitigate potential negative impacts of such changes on people's nutritional status.
FAO's Food Security and Agricultural Projects Analysis Service (ESAF) provides technical assistance to help governments and regional organisations develop drought mitigation plans. Though the objective of this assistance is preventive, it may be a component of broader assistance to develop drought preparedness plans (see Phase Two - Preparedness). Strategies or plans aimed at minimising the effects of drought are also likely to be features of, or linked to, wider national food security and nutrition action plans. They are formulated in the context of follow-up to the 1992 FAO/WHO International Conference on Nutrition (ICN), and the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS).
A drought mitigation action plan aims to lessen the impact of drought when it occurs, thus reducing its capacity to cause disaster. It typically includes the following elements:
FAO supports inter-institutional drought mitigation planning workshops and other activities at national and local level. They are geared to result in the formulation of an action strategy and plan. A prominent issue in such a strategy is how to best support, strengthen and supplement existing coping mechanisms. Drought-afflicted populations must minimize the cost of putting such mechanisms into effect. This requires a good base of information on local livelihood systems and mechanisms used by different groups to cope with drought, which is part of the remit of early warning and food information systems (see Phase Three - Early Warning).
The experience of recent locust emergency campaigns demonstrated that the control of locust emergency situations alone is insufficient in terms of long-term development assistance to locust affected countries. Locust emergency control operations come at a high cost. They require external donor resources provided at the expense of development assistance. Donors prefer to support preventive action rather than emergency operations.
This concept developed into the idea of Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES). FAO adopted this Emergency Prevention System as a Special Action Programme. It is co-ordinated jointly by the Plant Protection Service (AGPP) and the Animal Health Service (AGAH). There are four main thrust categories for EMPRES:
EMPRES supports strengthening and co-ordination of national and regional locust control capacities. It accomplishes this through encouraging improvements in surveillance and information exchange and the development of methods and strategies for desert locust control. It also plans for rapid deployment of control operations and mobilises the necessary resources. The initial focus of the program concentrated on the desert locust and on the important central region breeding areas. Inclusion of other major crop pests however, such as the army worm, the African migratory locust and the red locust is envisaged, along with a broadening of the geographical scope of its activities. The programme is also intended to tackle new threats as they arise. Recent outbreaks of new pests include that of pink mealy bug in the Caribbean, fruit fly in Surinam, cotton boll worm, brown peach aphid in Yemen, and the citrus leaf miner.
Early warning, surveillance and information. Early warning and surveillance is a key to successful control activities for desert locust, involving routine surveys in likely outbreak areas. The practical difficulty of conducting such surveys over vast and often inaccessible areas of possible breeding centres is being addressed through development of techniques for integrating, on a real-time basis, detailed environmental data obtained through remote sensing, precise knowledge on desert locust ecology and population dynamics, and current and historical data on locust sightings and movements. Use of NOAA satellite images (see Phase Three - Early Warning) has been demonstrated with calibration for vegetation levels and presence of locust host plants. This offers the prospect of rapid, low-cost identification of possible outbreak areas. Integration of such information, including a wider use of rainfall monitoring, is being facilitated by installation of a geographic information system for locust forecasting at FAO.
AGPP operates the Desert Locust Information System from its headquarters. The System gathers locust and environmental information on a regular basis and provides short-term forecasts of locust activity through its regular monthly Desert Locust Bulletin. It also disseminates summaries of the current crop pest situation via the Internet and has established an information link with GIEWS (see Phase Three - Early Warning) to warn of actual or potential crop pest attacks which may have the potential for significant food security consequences.
As part of the early warning system, EMPRES is upgrading information exchange systems to enable improved decision-making and rapid mobilisation of resources for control operations. It is essential that detailed information on environmental conditions and on locust populations in a given country is made available to all the participating countries as well as to regional and international organisations in a regular and timely manner. A network based on modern communications technology is being established which will allow instant access to such information by all participating parties. Information available through the network will include detailed field survey reports, data on environmental conditions such as satellite images and on control operations, and information related to the operational and co-ordinating activities of EMPRES.
Desert Locust Monitoring and Control: FAO has world-wide responsibility for monitoring of desert locust control, through the Desert Locust Control Committee (DLCC) which it operates. DLCC works through three FAO Regional Commissions for the Control of Desert Locust in Northwest Africa, Central Region and South-west Asia respectively. There are also two regional organisations operating under DLCC auspices. The Joint Anti-Locust and Anti-Aviarian Organisation (OCLALAV) in Dakar is responsible for desert locust, grasshopper and bird control in ten west African states. The Desert Locust Control Organization - East Africa (DLCO-EA) in Addis Ababa, covers control of desert and African migratory locust in seven Horn of Africa states. The locust information system operated under the Emergency Centre for Locust Operations (ECLO) and visualised through the FAO/ECLO Bulletins and Updates continues to be provided by AGPP.
Pesticide Procurement. FAO procedures for the procurement of pesticides allow rapid purchase of pesticides on the international market through FAO's Procurement Service (AFSP). In implementing this function FAO has also tightened procedures in an effort to minimise instances of inappropriate formulation, inadequate packaging and labelling and sub-standard warehousing and transport. These practices commonly lead to unsafe and ineffective use of pesticides and to disposal problems. This creates problems in countries that lack proper pesticide registration systems (see Phases Four and Five - Impact and Immediate Needs Assessment, and Relief).
Control Strategies and Methods. Current control strategies depend on control of outbreaks (when gregarisation and breeding begins), backed up by control of upsurges (when unchecked outbreaks lead to hopper bands and swarms within parts of regions). If this fails and a plague ensues (very large populations comprising unbroken series of hopper bands and swarms over a whole region or regions), then "plague elimination" may be attempted as in the 1986-89 desert locust campaign. Alternatively a more restricted strategy of "crop protection" can be focused on control of outbreaks in specific cropping areas.
Control methods were formerly based on ultra-low volume (ULV) use of high efficacy, persistent organochlorine pesticides such as dieldrin, concentrating on barrier spraying of vegetation on which hoppers feed. In the 1980s concern over the environmental impacts of persistent pesticides led to a shift to the use of non-persistent organophosphates and synthetic pyrethroids, which are safer but necessitate a more frequent and a higher volume of spraying.
EMPRES is playing a leading role in the evaluation of alternative control methods, including the potential for biological control, and the development of detailed decision criteria for initiating control operations.
FAO has been actively involved in prevention and control of livestock diseases since its inception. FAO's Animal Health Service (AGAH) and FAO Regional Commissions assist national veterinary services in this regard. FAO also collaborates with the International Office of Epizootics, WHO and regional international organisations such as the Pan-American Health Organization, the European Commission and the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources of the Organization for African Unity.
While AGAH continues to assist governments in dealing with animal health problems at the national level, the attention of the Service has increasingly been drawn to the resurgence of serious epidemic diseases. This has led to the development of the EMPRES programme's livestock component. Its objective is to "Promote the effective containment and control of the most serious epidemic livestock diseases as well as of newly-emerging/evolving animal diseases by progressive elimination on a regional and global basis through international co-operation involving early warning, early/rapid reaction, enabling research and co-ordination."
The initial focus of attention has been on rinderpest, the original cattle plague. Now confined to parts of Africa, the Near East and Asia, it threatens other regions but is considered possible to eradicate. Consequently, the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme is now under implementation as an EMPRES component, with eradication targeted for the end of 2010. Eventually, EMPRES will also cover other major epidemic diseases and pests to be tackled in collaboration with other international and regional organisations.
In this regard, transboundary animal diseases have been grouped into three categories for the purpose of EMPRES, namely:
This work will build on the experience of the North American Screw-Worm Eradication programme. The programme was a highly successful exercise orchestrated by FAO in 1988-90. In that period, it was discovered that a very hazardous infective agent had contaminated Libyan cattle imported from South America. Within two years, the disease was eradicated in Africa. This was accomplished through the release of large numbers of sterile flies (the disease vectors) from the air with supportive prophylactic treatment of livestock with acaricides. The programme illustrated an effective organisational approach used by FAO in confronting emergency situations - clear delegation of executive responsibility to a small team under high-level leadership.
Main elements of the EMPRES livestock strategy are:
Early warning activities related to transboundary animal diseases are based predominantly on epidemiological surveillance leading to improved awareness and knowledge of the distribution of a disease or infection. This then permits possible forecasting of further evolution of outbreaks. In this regard, the EMPRES-Livestock programme is developing a hierarchical system for global early warning. This is to be backed-up by a GIS driven, data capture and analysis software package (TADInfo) designed to operate at three levels: national, regional and global.
At the national level, TADInfo will provide a mechanism for receiving epidemiological information and analysing it with a view to detecting threatening epidemics at an early stage. The TADInfo national package will be linked electronically to FAO Regional Offices, collaborating regional organisations and from where any multi-country responses can be co-ordinated. This will facilitate the tracking of disease patterns. At the global level, TADInfo will incorporate field data into a GIS geared to disease modelling and prediction linked with related data in the GIEWS. This will give support to timely global early warning for transboundary animal diseases and to an early and co-ordinated international response to disease emergencies. FAO publishes a quarterly bulletin known as the EMPRES Transboundary Animal Diseases Bulletin. This bulletin, the EMPRES web site and regular electronic discussion groups are the main early warning mechanisms for disease.
There are a number of transboundary pests and diseases affecting forests. Outbreaks can have serious economic and environmental consequences both in terms of direct effects on forest resources and on livelihoods in which forests and forest products play a large part. FAO's Forestry Department provides assistance for emergency control operations for these pests and diseases where requested by member countries. Control operations are based on a selection of genetic, silvicultural, chemical, biological or regulatory tactics based on knowledge of the pest or disease agent and its habitat.
FAO's Forestry Department collaborates actively with a range of national and international organisations concerned with research, prevention, preparedness and control for forest fires. These include:
Important areas of collaboration include the following:
FAO provides technical assistance and training to help hurricane or cyclone prone countries develop agricultural and fishing practices which are less susceptible to storm damage. (See also Phase Four - Impact and Immediate Needs Assessment)
FAO assistance typically comprises:
- construction of brick (instead of thatch) buildings, storm shelters, fishing jetties and mooring buoys;
- installation of storm warning systems including radio relay stations, shore-to-boat and boat-to-boat communications networks;
- supply of life-saving appliances;
- boat modification and motorization programmes;
- establishment of local sea and storm safety committees and an effective search and rescue capability, and provision of training and technical advice on sea safety; and
- demonstration and training programmes, including national and sub-regional workshops on hurricane/cyclone impact mitigation, and production of training programmes and materials for farmers, forestry staff, fishermen and extensionists.
FAO is providing technical assistance and training to help flood prone countries develop measures and agricultural practices to mitigate the impact of recurrent floods, for example in major river basins such as the Mekong. Assistance is designed to help member countries increase their understanding of the dynamic of floods. Support is provided for the preparation of plans for the prevention/mitigation of the effects of future floods as well as for better management of land resources taking into account costs, benefits and hazard risks.
The scope of such projects usually include:
Expected outputs for the study area are:
FAO's Forest Resources Division and Land and Water Development Division work together to promote soil conservation measures which reduce the risk of landslides and flash flood damage in mountainous areas. FAO collaborates with national bodies to promote research and technical work on the methods of calculation and prediction of flash floods. Research is also conducted regarding the management and mitigation of effects with respect to hydraulics and torrent hydrology, landslides and large mass movements and biological and hydrotechnical means of watershed restoration and torrent control. Measures include the planting of tree and grass species, physical slope stabilisation, and construction of drainage works where roads, settlements and arable land are vulnerable to landslide and flood following heavy rain.
FAO also provides technical assistance for the design of strategies to protect arable and grazing land from flood and tidal bores in coastal areas by means of embankments, dams, canals, improved drainage systems and other works.
Where people and property are exposed to the risk of avalanche, FAO promotes methods for determining characteristics of snow cover and for localising avalanche risk. FAO provides information on techniques for temporary defence, for deviating, braking and containing avalanches, for snow stabilisation in the starting zone and for wind deflection. This technical information is based on forestry and engineering approaches.
In the "Rome Declaration on World Food Security and World Food Summit Plan of Action", Governments committed themselves to prevent and resolve conflicts peacefully to create a stable political environment. This is considered to be an essential foundation for food security, poverty eradication and sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development. Member countries indicated their intention to assure and reinforce peace in co-operation with the international community. This will be achieved through the development of conflict prevention mechanisms, settling of disputes by peaceful means, as well as by promoting tolerance, non-violence and respect for diversity.
Conflict prevention is thus emerging as an area of work for FAO that is closely related to some of the organisations core mandates. FAO's focus on reducing poverty, inequality and food insecurity can be a critical factor in overcoming social tensions which can escalate into conflict and open violence. The sustainability of peace following a complex emergency is likely to depend at least in part on the extent to which the rehabilitation and reconstruction activities are successful in addressing those tensions.
Issues relating to access to environmental resources - arable and grazing land, water resources, forests and fisheries - are often at the heart of conflict. FAO plays an active role in assisting member countries to establish strategies and policies for equitable and efficient systems of access to these resources. FAO helps develop policies for land tenure, agrarian reform and rangeland management systems which balance the needs of pastoralists and farmers. Irrigation water distribution systems are set up in order to reach the poorest farmers. Community forestry user group and international fishery commissions are developed in order to better manage those resources.
This work is also aimed at supporting local civil society institutions, including traditional authorities, and their role in planning and resource management and control. It is generally recognised that societies with strong civil institutions and levels of `social capital' in general are less prone to conflict. Instead they are more able to manage and recover quickly from conflict.
Two examples presented below highlight how FAO assistance can contribute to conflict prevention.
The first example pertains to the support of the Forestry Policy and Institutions Branch (FONP)/Community Forestry to a global Conflict Management and Resolution Programme. The goal of the Programme is to support local communities, community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations and government organisations in a capacity building process. The programme enables these groups to accommodate multiple interests in community-based natural resource management for sustainable rural livelihoods. To meet this goal, the Programme will help these institutions develop and implement conflict management activities, techniques and strategies that support equitable access, utilisation, and benefit sharing of natural resources.
Major Programme components include the:
The second example relates to FAO's role as a catalyst in the Nile Basin Initiative through the Italian-funded project "Capacity Building for Nile Basin Water Resources Management" (FAO GCP/INT/752/ITA). The Project aims at sustainable socio-economic development through the equitable utilisation of, the common Nile Basin water resources among nine participating countries. The first phase of the FAO/Italy Nile Basin Water Resources project focused on strengthening regional co-ordination and reinforcement of basic capacities of the Nile riparians. The participants benefit from strengthened water resources management, joint use of shared resources and related issues, and to improve some of the key technical facilities in each country.
The second phase attempts to address water resources management issues in the basin as a whole. At sub-regional and national levels, the programme provides comprehensive training to the project beneficiaries and supports the Nile Basin Initiative and its Shared Vision Programme through filling technological gaps. Specific outputs include the establishment of a comprehensive geo-referenced database, the implementation of a transboundary water resources monitoring network and the development of a prototype water resources management decision support tool. Given the significance of water resource issues as a cause of conflict, FAO's support to the Nile Basin Initiative could well develop into a model of how FAO can contribute to conflict prevention through activities related to its core mandates.
Refugee populations who are concentrated for protracted periods often have no option but to exploit local environmental resources in an unsustainable manner. This is often manifested through intensive cultivation of hill slopes, local overgrazing and deforestation, despite food and other assistance which they may be receiving. Much of FAO's work in agricultural relief (see Phase Five - Relief) has a strongly preventative character in seeking to avoid or limit the emergence of an environmental disaster from what began as a complex emergency.
To limit deforestation, perhaps the most serious environmental consequence of such situations, as affected populations strive to obtain fuel wood for cooking purposes, FAO works with other agencies to promote:
