Environmental Consequences of the Syria Crisis

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) jointly organized a coordination workshop in Geneva, Switzerland on 25 January 2016 to take stock of the ongoing efforts by partners to identify, assess and where possible mitigate environmental consequences of the ongoing crisis in Syria and its neighbouring countries. Prior to the meeting an Issue Brief was developed and shared in an effort to provide an initial overview of conducted studies and ongoing initiatives related to the Syrian conflict and corresponding humanitarian response. Coverage aimed to include the refugee response in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey and the on-going humanitarian response in Syria. This note provides an overview of the discussions and suggested follow-up actions.