An environmental emergency is defined as a "sudden-onset disaster or accident resulting from natural, technological or human-induced factors, or a combination of these, that causes or threatens to cause severe environmental damage as well as loss of human lives and property." (UNEP/GC.22/INF/5, 13 November 2002.)
Following a disaster or conflict, an environmental emergency can occur when people's health and livelihoods are at risk due to the release of hazardous and noxious substances, or because of significant damage to the ecosystem. Examples include fires,
oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...
s,
chemical accident A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more chemical hazard substances which could harm human health and the environment. Such events include fires, explosions, leakages or release of toxic or hazardous materials that can cause ...
s,
toxic waste dump
Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, co ...
ing and
groundwater pollution
Groundwater pollution (also called groundwater contamination) occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater. This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the presence of a minor and unwanted ...
.
The environmental risks can be acute and life-threatening. According to the International Disaster Database
EM-DAT, between 2003 and 2013, there were 380 industrial accidents reported, affecting 207 668 people and resulting in over US$22 million in losses. Climate change is having an unprecedented effect on the occurrence of natural disasters and the associated risk of environmental emergencies. With climate change already stretching the disaster relief system, future climate-related emergency events will generate increased and more costly demands for assistance.
Context
All disasters have some environmental impacts.
Some of these may be immediate and life-threatening – for example, when an earthquake damages an industrial facility, which in turn releases hazardous materials. In such cases these so-called 'secondary impacts' may cause as much damage as the initial causal factor.
For example, Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda that struck the Philippines in November 2013, caused massive destruction and had a huge human toll but also generated a spill of around 800,000 litres of heavy oil, when a power barge ran aground in Estancia, Iloilo province, at the height of the typhoon.
Disasters may also have longer-term impacts. For example, natural disasters may cause long-term waste management difficulties or
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
damage.
Major international conferences
The Environmental Emergencies Forum is a unique biennial international forum that brings together disaster managers and environmental experts from governments,
UN agencies, industries, academies, NGOs and civil society to improve prevention, preparedness, response and overall resilience to environmental emergencies. It also provides guidance for the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, which provides a Secretariat to the meeting. The most recent meeting was held in Norway in June 2015. The next meeting will be held in Nairobi in June 2017.
Relevant organizations
United Nations
The Join
United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) Environment Unit (JEU): By pairing the UNEP's technical expertise with OCHA's humanitarian response network, the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit (JEU) mobilizes and coordinates a comprehensive response to environmental emergencies to protect lives, livelihoods, ecosystems and future generations. The JEU can be reached 24 hours/day, seven days/week, all year round and operates at the request of affected countries. The JEU can be called by member states when acute environmental risks to life and health as a result of conflicts, natural disasters and industrial accidents are suspected.
The JEU hosts the Environmental Emergencies Centre
www.eecentre.org, an online tool designed primarily to provide national responders with a one-stop-shop of all information relevant to the preparedness, prevention and response stages of an environmental emergency.
Website
www.unocha/org/unepwww.eecentre.org
See also
*Disaster management
Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...
*Environmental crime
Environmental crime is an illegal act which directly harms the environment. These illegal activities involve the environment, wildlife, biodiversity and natural resources. International bodies such as, G8, Interpol, European Union, United Nation ...
*Environmental disaster
An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.Jared M. Diamond, '' Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'', 2005 This point disti ...
*Natural disasters
A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econo ...
* Risk management
*UNISDR
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) was created in December 1999 to ensure the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (General Assembly (GA) resolution 54/219).
*Vulnerability
Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally."
A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...
*World Conference on Disaster Reduction
The World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction is a series of United Nations conferences focusing on disaster and climate risk management in the context of sustainable development. The World Conference has been convened three times, with each edit ...
References
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External links
UN OCHA Environmental Emergencies Section
Environmental Emergencies Centre
Green Star Awards
Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction
Global Disaster Information Network
APELL
UNEP/GC.22/INF/5
Emergency management
Humanitarian aid
Natural disasters
Environmental disasters