Local deforestation, soil erosion, water contamination and depletion are all greatly accelerated by refugees, who themselves suffer from the environmental impacts of their activities. Guidelines, trends, project details, publications and more. Large-scale refugee movements often have major impacts on local environments. Experts are exploring new ways to minimize the damage. The mitigation of environmental damage is one of the priority items in today's refugee situations.
Donors recognize that moderate expenditure can save enormous cost in repairing damaged lands.
Replanting forests and reducing dependence on fragile surroundings are part of a program to deal with the ecological degradation created by mass population movements. Deforestation around refugee camps in Zimbabwe has become critical. With no access to other fuel sources, refugees have rapidly depleted supplies of deadwood around their settlements and have to travel vast distances to gather firewood.