Faced with the intensification of humanitarian crises linked to climate change, this article offers a rethink of the humanitarian sector centred on a “new humanism” that integrates humans and ecosystems. The authors, from Action contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger), advocate an approach combining mitigation, adaptation and restoration for more sustainable and holistic humanitarian action.
Humanitarian crises are increasing and intensifying, particularly because of the climate crisis, making the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) more complex and necessary than ever before. In this fast-changing context, how can NGOs adapt to meet immediate needs while anticipating the long-term impact on populations and ecosystems? This article explores the changes needed, drawing on the humanist origins of humanitarianism and the concept of the “humanitarian-development-peace nexus”, before recommending that new avenues be explored to design a sustainable and more holistic intervention model based on the idea of a new type of humanism.
Insufficient attention paid to the environment throughout the history of humanitarian aid
If we go back to the relatively distant origins of the concept of humanitarianism, we come across the humanist school of thought, which emerged in the fourteenth century, that placed human beings at its centre. Their ambition was to find out about, and understand, human beings so they could help them thrive, in contrast to the God-centred vision that had dominated until then.[1]Jacques Dufresne, « Humanisme », L’agora, une agora, une encyclopédie, 13 septembre 2020,http://agora.qc.ca/Dossiers/Humanisme Of course, this humanist thinking continues in today’s humanitarian movement, which was set up to come to the aid of victims without waiting for divine intervention. And it is both the men and women who need aid and those who take action who are at the heart of the system. Later, in the nineteenth century, when Henry Dunant laid the foundations of what was to become modern humanitarianism, environmental aspects were not yet taken into account, as if it was only the fate of human beings that mattered.
Development organisations have, of course, become well-established over time. However, it was not until the 1980s[2]European Parliament, Linking relief, rehabilitation and development: Towards more effective aid, Policy Briefing, July 2012 … Continue reading that humanitarian aid began to be considered not just for emergencies, but as something long term, with the idea of the sustainability of responses to crises, through the concept of “linking relief, rehabilitation and development” (LRRD). There is only one explicit mention of climate change in 2012, in a European Parliament policy briefing,[3]European Parliament, Linking relief, rehabilitation and development…, op. cit. while the concept of LRRD was at last enshrined at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 through the prism of the humanitarian-development double nexus and then the humanitarian-development-peace triple nexus in 2019.[4]Dr Gloria Nguya and Nadia Siddiqui, The Triple Nexus (H-D-P) and Implications for Durable Solutions to Internal Displacement, The Internal Displacement Research Programme, August 2020. “The … Continue reading In this decade, climate change was mentioned as an aggravating factor in humanitarian crises, justifying this continuity of intervention (humanitarian and development). However, climate and environmental vulnerabilities were not yet widely taken into account in organisation agendas.
Since the early 2020s, humanitarian actors have become increasingly aware of the significance of environmental and climate crises in their work. Is this the logical continuation of the previous decade, accelerated by the results of the COP 21 climate change conference in 2015 or the COVID-19 crisis? Concrete action is being taken, including recent funders policies to limit the sector’s negative impact on the environment,[5]Réseau Environnement Humanitaire, Analyse des politiques environnementales des bailleurs de fonds par ACF, août 2023, 7 septembre 2023, … Continue reading a rise in initiatives such as the Climate and Environment Charter,[6]Secretariat for the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations, Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations, May 2021, … Continue reading signed by over 150 organisations, and the creation of working groups dedicated to these issues within sectoral clusters.
Finally, humanitarian actors are beginning to adopt more holistic approaches, such as One health[7]J. Zinsstag, E. Schelling, D. Waltner-Toews et al., “From ‘one medicine’ to ‘one health’ and systemic approaches to health and well-being”, Preventive Veterinary Medicine, vol. 101, no. … Continue reading or Planetary health,[8]Sarah Whitmee, Andy Haines, Chris Beyer et al., “Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on planetary health”, The Lancet, … Continue reading which give their actions a framework that truly includes ecosystems, with the aim of increasing both community and ecological resilience. This ecological resilience, which has long been ignored in the humanitarian world, would benefit from being fully recognised as an integral part of the resilience of populations. In any case, it seems to us, at the end of this roughly described, and therefore simplified, history, that what might be called a “new humanism” is emerging, which some humanitarian actors are beginning to address.
New humanism and reform of the humanitarian approach
The idea of a “new humanism” can be found in a speech by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, in 2010, which she defines as follows:
“The new humanism means […] a better grasp of our environment, by understanding and anticipating the consequences of climate change for millions of people affected by drought, desertification and rising water levels. It entails protecting biodiversity along with cultural diversity.”[9]Irina Bokova, A New Humanism for the 21st Century, adapted from a speech given by the Director-General of UNESCO in Milan (Italy), 7 September 2010, … Continue reading
Humanitarian actors are now being urged to recognise the interdependence between humans and their environment, so that their programmes always place communities and their ecosystems at the heart of their proposed responses. This vision, which is not something completely new for them, reinforces the need to not only meet a population’s needs (both on an ad hoc basis and by increasing their resilience), but also to restore their ecosystem, without which their survival would ultimately be threatened.
“The aim of this humanitarian sector reform is to adopt what could be called a ‘new humanism’, bringing together people and their environment.”
The aim of this humanitarian sector reform is to adopt what could be called a “new humanism”, bringing together people and their environment. It also means accelerating the localisation of aid, as human beings (in all their diversity) cannot be dissociated from their environment. Localisation means putting local knowledge and expertise to use, reconnecting humanitarian action with target populations. These practices, which are all too often neglected, nevertheless offer technical solutions. Giving them the importance they deserve is a mark of respect for the cultures of the local populations and their environment. Combined with recent research and advances from a wide range of sources (regional and global), they will enable sustainable solutions to be implemented.
At a time when six of the nine planetary boundaries have been exceeded,[10]Katherine Richardson, Will Steffen, Wolfgang Lucht et al., “Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries”, Science Advances, vol. 9, no. 37, 13 September 2023, … Continue reading and to move towards this “new humanism”, the humanitarian sector must continue to apply its main principle – “first, do no harm” – which is now translated into impact mitigation measures in its programming, but it must also reform itself by combining these mitigation measures with others, known as adaptation and restoration measures.
Adaptation, mitigation and restoration strategies
To make this transition a reality, mitigation, adaptation and restoration form a continuum: acting on one of these courses of action without taking the others into account would greatly limit the impact of each.
Mitigation: reducing the negative impacts of interventions
Mitigation is no longer just a recommendation: it has become a prerequisite for both funders and the NGOs that have signed up to the Climate and environment charter for humanitarian organisations. Assessing the environmental impact of a project to reduce its negative footprint is a widely recommended practice that is certainly growing, but is still not sufficiently compulsory to become a new operational standard. To reduce these harmful effects on ecosystems and biodiversity, including their own greenhouse gas emissions, NGOs can resort to short-term changes in practices, such as using local, sustainably produced, environmentally friendly materials or drastically limiting the use of fossil fuels.
But beyond these most intuitive changes, to guarantee a constant (or even increasing) level of service to users, mitigation cannot be implemented by maintaining the operating methods of the past, which stem from a thermo-industrial construction of aid: organisations are faced with the need to transform their modus operandi, to reconcile the resilience of populations, ecological resilience and exemplarity.
Setting an example is all the more important when you consider the very small contribution made by the humanitarian sector to global greenhouse gas emissions. While this small share should not become a justification for inaction,[11]Thomas Wagner, « Climat : les 12 excuses de l’inaction, et comment y répondre. Excuse 4 : Whataboutisme », Bon Pote, 16 juillet 2020, … Continue reading it is clear that if we are to make effective progress towards mitigation, it is the behaviour of the so-called developed countries that is the key to success. Unless the countries that are really responsible for these impacts on the climate are called to account, humanitarian organisations will have to continue to assist populations that are suffering the consequences without having caused climate change, but they will not be dealing with the source of the problem. Advocacy and concrete action in “Global North” countries need to be envisaged.
Adaptation: integrating resilience into humanitarian programmes
“Natural” disasters have always been the main reason for humanitarian action, but they are increasing in frequency and intensity as a result of the climate and environmental crises. For example, the number of major tropical cyclones (categories 3-5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale) has increased by 25% in 40 years,[12]James P. Kossin, Kenneth R. Knapp, Timothy L. Olander et al., “Global increase in major tropical cyclone exceedance probability over the past four decades”, Proceedings of the National Academy of … Continue reading while desertification and land degradation continue to spread, already affecting more than 40% of land[13]Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, The state of the world’s land and water resources for food and agriculture – Systems at breaking point, Synthesis report 2021, … Continue reading and affecting the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people.[14]Edward B. Barbier and Jacob P. Hochard, “Land degradation and poverty”, Nature Sustainability, vol. 1, no. 11, 13 November 2018, pp. 623–631. As the risks increase, we need to prepare for them (both humanitarian actors and local populations) and adapt to this new paradigm, which not only generates more disasters but also to the effects of climate change, which are becoming chronic.
“Adaptation to the climate crisis, while requiring the addition of new expertise and new skills, must become a new standard and not a one-off addition, just as for other cross-cutting themes.”
Adaptation involves adjusting programmes and delivery methods to reduce current or anticipated negative impacts on populations, ecosystems and economies. This also includes the creation of new programmes to strengthen community resilience. Adaptation to the climate crisis, while requiring the addition of new expertise and new skills, must become a new standard and not a one-off addition, just as for other cross-cutting themes such as gender and protection. In the humanitarian sector, adaptation can involve the use of local seeds identified as being drought-resistant, or the systematic inclusion of water resource management, in particular by monitoring aquifers, collecting rainwater, or incorporating agroforestry to limit erosion and maintain soil moisture.
Adaptation also involves better anticipation and management of these risks: more resilient construction in the face of storms, floods or rising sea levels, the introduction of early warning systems for cyclones, and evacuation plans in the event of floods or fires. The humanitarian world, which is used to responding to emergency situations, has already started to work on its preparation, but it still needs to make this approach something that takes place systematically. As already vulnerable populations are also the most exposed to the climate crisis, this is also a matter of climate justice.
Adaptation is therefore an essential part of the global response to climate crises, to protect people, their livelihoods and ecosystems. The longer adaptation efforts are delayed, the more expensive it will be to respond to the impacts of the climate crisis.[15]According to the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (30 October 2006), the cost of inaction is much higher than the cost of prevention: 5% to 20% of global GDP, compared with 1% for … Continue reading And the more these efforts are based on scientific knowledge combined with traditional knowledge, and carried out in consultation with local communities and authorities, the more effective they will be in the long term.
Preservation and restoration: going beyond impact reduction
Preserving ecosystems and restoring degraded ones is the third course of action for achieving the ecological transition needed in the humanitarian sector. While it is legitimate to ask whether conservation and restoration should be part of the humanitarian sector’s activities, the interdependence between ecological issues and humanitarian aid is very real. Ecosystems play a crucial role in sustaining people’s livelihoods, health, access to water and food, and well-being. The provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural services provided by biodiversity to society, known as ecosystem services, need to be preserved. Pollination, soil fertility and carbon storage, which are all ecosystem services, are directly associated with the co-benefits of agroecology, an agricultural practice often promoted in the humanitarian sector.
Preservation activities also strengthen and improve the livelihoods of communities, helping to lift them out of situations of chronic vulnerability by giving them access to a higher, more sustainable level of income, and therefore to a better level of development. The humanitarian sector is therefore fully justified in implementing ecosystem restoration projects.
This legitimacy is reinforced, as if by a mirror effect, by the failure to take sufficient account of the human element in certain nature conservation programmes. Historically, through projects seeking to protect species or ecosystems, communities have found themselves deprived of access to their land, losing their livelihoods, having their right to food threatened, or being forcibly displaced, marginalised or deprived of their cultural and ancestral rights.[16]Jenny Springer, “Addressing the social impacts of conservation: lessons from experience and future directions”, Conservation and Society, vol. 7, no. 1, 2009, pp. 26–29. As a result, the opposite of what was hoped for could happen: poaching in a protected area and land contamination. In addition to the environmental damage that such interventions can cause, the social damage is enormous: loss of employment, impoverishment, exclusion, etc.[17]William M. Adams and Jon Hutton, “People, parks and poverty: political ecology and biodiversity conservation”, Conservation and Society, vol. 5, no. 2, 2007, pp. 147–183. Since the 1990s, conservation organisations have therefore moved towards community-based approaches (i.e. community-based conservation) that take livelihoods and food security into account better, based, in particular, on data showing that such approaches achieve their conservation objectives better.[18]David Western, Michael R. Wright (eds.) and Shirley Carol Strum, Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-Based Conservation, Island Press, 1994. That said, these projects are still limited by a lack of resources, restricting them to a scale of impact that is often limited to Key Biodiversity Areas (rarely covering agro-pastoral areas), not allowing them to work in conflict zones, and rarely incorporating nutrition and health interventions. It is therefore entirely within the remit of humanitarian responsibilities to support these organisations to ensure that communities are informed, included and supported in projects to preserve and restore the environment, for example by moving towards alternative livelihoods or ensuring effective management of natural resources.[19]Fikret Berkes, “Rethinking community based conservation”, Conservation Biology, vol. 18, no. 3, 10 May 2004, pp. 621–630 ; Enrique Calfucura, “Governance, land and distribution: A discussion … Continue reading A mangrove restoration project will not only create new income-generating activities (creation of a tree nursery, tree planting, etc.), but will also reduce the risk of disasters by reinforcing the coastal protection offered by the mangrove. In addition, such a project will help to improve food security and nutrition by increasing the available fish stocks. It also means working with local partners who have in-depth knowledge of protecting the environment, and even of regenerating soils, replanting forests or restoring wetlands. In this way, by working with communities and all those involved in conservation, humanitarian aid will be able to implement projects that deliver results in the best human and ecological interests.
Towards a sustainable response to crises
To respond effectively to current and future humanitarian crises, and in line with this new humanism based on the mitigation-adaptation-restoration continuum, the humanitarian sector must radically reform its practices and knowledge, and move away from an immediate-response approach that focuses solely on people, to include climate and environmental issues.
“Some players in the sector are driving this change and joining forces to make it happen, as illustrated by the achievements of the Humanitarian Environment Network (HER).”
There may seem to be many obstacles: a lack of technical skills within NGOs, but also a lack of partners with these skills, difficulties in obtaining funding for projects that include environmental aspects, varying timeframes, and resistance to change on the part of funders and sometimes humanitarian workers themselves. However, some players in the sector are driving this change and joining forces to make it happen, as illustrated by the achievements of the Humanitarian Environment Network (HER)[20]Faced with the urgency and seriousness of climate and environmental issues, the Humanitarian Environment Network works to improve understanding and awareness of these issues among French-speaking … Continue reading in France. Examples include the commitment made by humanitarian NGOs in 2020 to reduce their carbon footprint by 50% by 2030, and the creation of content, support and peer-to-peer exchanges on subjects ranging from sustainable procurement and waste management to environmental assessments of programmes.
Other pioneering initiatives are showing the way, such as the Loss and Damage Fund, established at the COP27 climate change conference and implemented at the COP28 conference in 2023,[21]United Nations, Operationalization of the new funding arrangements, including the fund, for responding to loss and damage referred to in paragraphs 2–3 of decisions 2/CP.27 and 2/CMA.4, 29 November … Continue reading and stemming from the growing importance of the concepts of climate justice, climate reparations and the right to development. This fund represents a step towards recognising the responsibility of the richest countries in the climate crisis, and the need for sustainable financing that does not create debt for “Global South” countries, even if the necessary amounts have not yet been made available.
In the age of climate change, the aim of a sustainable response to crises will involve three complementary and simultaneous courses of action. The aim will be to reduce the impact of our own actions, but also to help reduce the impact of “Global North” countries, by encouraging our partners to change their practices and undertaking joint advocacy for the sector at an international level. We will also have to adapt our programmes to current and anticipated environmental and climatic conditions. It will also be important to recognise the link between human and ecosystem resilience and the full role of humanitarian NGOs in preserving and restoring the environment.
This will involve a reform of the humanitarian sector, which will enable us to adopt the “new humanism” we are calling for, linking human beings to ecosystems, involving communities in “Global South” countries more in decision-making and encouraging players in “Global North” countries to really assume their responsibilities. This reform will have to overcome a number of challenges, including those relating to the necessary funding, the sharing of knowledge and practices between humanitarian and environmental actors, and the recognition of its validity by all actors – humanitarian and political alike.
We would like to thank Sophie Allebone-Webb, Marie Cosquer and Camille Evain for proofreading our manuscript. We would also like to point out that the writing of this article was finalised before the US government cut USAID funds, which has since greatly changed the humanitarian landscape and will undoubtedly affect its functioning.
Translated from French by Louise Bongiovanni
Picture Credit: © Fabeha Monir pour Action contre la Faim
