FAO and UN agencies begin second phase of environmental project for refugees and host communities in Cox's Bazar
The new LPG stoves will allow families to safely cook without needing to gather firewood from depleted forests. They will also improve the safety of women and children, who risk gender-based violence and attacks from animals, when they collect firewood.
Families living in the world's largest refugee camp this week received the first 2 500 stoves and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders that are part of a United Nations project to protect the environment and build resilience for people living in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
The "SAFE Plus" (Safe Approaches to Fuel and Energy Plus Landscape Restoration and Livelihoods) project, which finally aims to provide ultimately 125,000 host community and refugee families with LPG stoves to prevent further deforestation caused by cutting firewood for cooking, is a partnership between the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and World Food Programme (WFP)
When some 700,000 Rohingya refugees fled to Cox's Bazar in August last year to escape violence in Myanmar, much of the area's protected forest was cut down for fuel and shelter, dramatically increasing the risk of flooding and landslides due to soil erosion. The new LPG stoves will allow families to safely cook without needing to gather firewood from depleted forests. They will also improve the safety of women and children, who risk gender-based violence and attacks from animals, when they collect firewood. Additionally, they will reduce health risks caused by smoke inhalation from open fires.
Host community and refugee families with LPG stoves will receive the fuel that they need through WFP's ‘multi-wallet' transfer solution. The agency's SCOPE beneficiary and transfer management platform identifies recipients through biometric authentication and ensures that the assistance they receive is accurately recorded and managed. ‘Fuel wallets' on their SCOPE assistance cards will record the LPG they receive, together with food and other items.