GLASGOW, Scotland — The Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda is home to 270,000 South Sudanese refugees and surrounded by arid land, which many refugees share with members of the local community through informal agreements. For both groups, sourcing fuel usually means cutting down trees. But this can lead to degradation and deforestation which, in turn, increases the risk of landslides and flooding.
Environmental sustainability is increasingly a priority for organizations that support communities hosting refugees, as they look at ways to ease competition for natural resources and prevent tension between groups, experts told Devex. This is particularly important in camp settings, which can have a heavier impact on the environment than the arrival of refugees in urban areas where some infrastructure already exists.
Charlotta Benedek, head of the UNEP/OCHA Joint Environment Unit, said that where there is a very large influx of refugees, the dependence and competition for scarce resources can create problems, including environmental ones.