Environmental programmes with refugees: abandon the blanket approach?

Abstract

Approaches to environmental problems in refugee emergencies have traditionally focused on two main areas: promotion of tree planting and dissemination of fuel-efficient stoves. This is done with the intention of increasing wood supply and simultaneously reducing the level of demand. Such activities are relatively easy for non-specialists to implement. They also produce two visible (and hence quantifiable) assets in a short space of time: trees and stoves.A case study from western Tanzania illustrates the diminished utility of such approaches where natural resources are locally abundant.

Keywords

• refugees
• environmental programmes
• environmental conservation
• refugee camps
• Tanzania