Integrated assessment of climate-related security risks for peace and security in Blue Nile, Sudan, and their gender dimensions

United Nations 7 months ago

The Blue Nile State in Sudan is grappling with a severe and escalating crisis, marked by an intensifying conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. This conflict has displaced 8.7 million people, including 4.6 million children by December 2024, with 336,710 seeking refuge in Blue Nile State. This situation has exacerbated existing intercommunal tensions and complicated the management of natural resources, which are already under strain from climate change impacts. The report recommends six strategic actions to tackle the immediate and long-term challenges in Blue Nile State: Contribute to stabilization and build foundations for longer-term peacebuilding: This involves facilitating community-based peace dialogues, supporting local peace committees, and ensuring climate-sensitive humanitarian efforts to address the dynamic conflict. Promote Climate-Smart Livelihoods: Focus on sustainable, community-driven, and scientifically informed livelihood initiatives, specifically targeting women, IDPs, and other marginalized groups. Strengthen Community-Based Conservation: Support the protection, conservation, and restoration of natural ecosystems through inclusive, community-led efforts that respect local and indigenous knowledge. Establish Inclusive Governance for Natural Resources: Create governance structures that integrate the voices and leadership of all community members, especially those typically excluded, to ensure equitable resource management and conflict prevention. Enhance Protections Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV): Implement comprehensive measures to address SGBV within resource-dependent roles, improving legal awareness, safety infrastructure, and effective response systems. Foster Transboundary Environmental Cooperation: Promote collaboration with neighboring countries on the sustainable management of shared ecosystems, which is crucial for regional peace and environmental stability. These recommendations aim to establish a robust framework that not only navigates the current crisis but also paves the way for sustainable peace and development, aligning local efforts with broader regional and international goals for resilience and conflict resolution.
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layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 2 days ago



{

"meta_title": "Sustainable construction pivots to resilience",

"meta_description": "Flood defences, resilience economics and biodiversity carve-outs are reshaping sustainable construction around utility, risk and returns.",

"digest_text": "Climate resilience is becoming the most bankable expression of sustainable construction. The Environment Agency's delivery of flood protection for 62,000 properties, beating its target by 10,000, shows where public spending is moving: towards asset protection that can be counted, priced and defended. LSE's triple dividend case for adaptation reinforces that shift, giving clients a language of life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and wider economic return rather than moral obligation alone.\n\nThat matters for sustainable building design. A market focused on risk will still talk about whole life carbon, embodied carbon and a whole life carbon assessment, yet the immediate winners are likely to be projects that combine resilience with low carbon design, energy-efficient buildings and credible lifecycle assessment. In practice, environmental sustainability in construction is being judged less by abstract ambition than by whether a scheme can protect value, cut exposure and support delivery.\n\nThe political signal is sharper in the Biodiversity Net Gain exemption for schemes below 0.2 hectares. Ministers are not abandoning sustainable design, eco-design for buildings or the circular economy, nor are they stepping away from net zero carbon buildings, net zero whole life carbon or BREEAM and BREEAM v7 benchmarks. They are revealing a hierarchy. Measures with a clear commercial or safety case are advancing faster than rules seen as friction.\n\nFor developers, contractors and specifiers, the lesson is clear. The next wave of work will favour low carbon building strategies that pair flood resilience with low carbon construction materials, embodied carbon in materials scrutiny and circular economy in construction. Sustainable construction is not narrowing; it is hardening around evidence, utility and returns."

}

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