Finland Times

 

 

Finland and Mexico serving as co-chairs of the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) group for the period 2013-2014 stressed on links between the environment and humanitarian assistance, said a press release of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

 

"Although environmental issues, such as conflicts concerning natural resources or natural disasters, may be the cause of humanitarian crises, the environmental perspective is still seldom considered in humanitarian aid," said Anna Gebremedhin, head of the Unit for Humanitarian Assistance at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

 

Gebremedhin, together with Mexico, co-chaired the high-level meeting of the GHD group in New York last week.

 

If environmental risks are not taken into account or their assessment is postponed to a later date, at the same time the recovery process may be impeded, environmental problems may be compounded and the proneness to risk and vulnerability may be aggravated, said the release.

 

"By monitoring and assessing the policies and practices of donors, we can promote better consideration of the environment in humanitarian assistance," Gebremedhin explained.

 

Aside from the environmental perspective, during Finland's and Mexico's co-chairmanship, the group has also developed cooperation between the private and public sectors and contributed to the Humanitarian Summit to be held in 2016.

 

The group promotes the implementation of the good humanitarian donorship principles adopted in Stockholm in 2003, and develops and enhances donor cooperation. The group currently has 41 members, the foreign ministry release mentioned.