Countries affected by armed conflict are disproportionately vulnerable to climate variability and change. The daily lives of people in situations of armed conflict are made even more difficult by climate risks and environmental degradation. In places affected by decades of conflict and fragility, increasingly frequent and unpredictable natural events, including droughts, floods, earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, cyclones and coastal erosion threaten people’s livelihoods and force many to leave their homes. The ICRC’s Water and Habitat unit works to ensure access to essential services such as water, sanitation, and electricity, and strives to create or maintain a sustainable living environment. Although the unit does not specifically implement stand-alone climate adaptation and mitigation projects, many of its projects nevertheless incorporate adaptation and mitigation measures to meet the needs of affected communities. This brochure provides a representative sample of the Water and Habitat projects implemented over the last decade that have incorporated climate change adaptation or mitigation measures into humanitarian work to meet the needs of conflict and/or crisis-affected communities.
