IOM is working with vulnerable communities in South Darfur,
particularly those experiencing large numbers of returning
internally displaced persons, to help them tackle environmental
insecurity, support sustainable livelihoods and promote
community-led development.

In the villages of Baba, Fia Jeow and Halouf, which are located
around Nyala, the capital of South Darfur State, some 4,000
residents are learning to manage tree nurseries to support on-going
reforestation efforts. With a combined capacity of 200,000
seedlings per year, the nurseries also provide an ideal training
ground for villagers to learn more about tree planting and
maintenance.

Farmers in Baba and Fia Jeow were trained to use more productive
and sustainable agricultural techniques, including water harvesting
for better water management, ecological pest control and intensive
vegetable gardening to improve livelihoods and food security while
rehabilitating fallow farmlands.

Additionally, more than 300 women were trained to make and use
improved, fuel-efficient stoves using local materials to reduce
deforestation and provide useful new livelihood options.

These projects are part of a Government of Japan-funded
Environment and Livelihoods Vulnerability Mapping programme, which
seeks to measure the availability of water and forest and other
resources through the analysis of satellite imagery. 

The data collected is then verified using the latest information
from IOM's Village Assessments and shared with all humanitarian
actors to help them set up environmental planning projects.

The ongoing violence in Darfur has resulted in serious
environmental damage, as families and communities affected by
conflict turn to unsustainable livelihoods such as firewood and
charcoal production, causing soil erosion and groundwater
depletion. This in turn worsens the cycle of conflict and
displacement, as people struggle to survive on declining land and
become ever more vulnerable to hunger and displacement.

"Although the current insecurity in Darfur and consequent lack
of access have prevented IOM from fully implementing all
environmental activities as originally planned, we hope this pilot
project will pave the way for similar programmes in other parts of
Sudan," says Jill Helke, IOM's Chief of Mission in Sudan.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Rushton

IOM Sudan

Tel: +249 183 570 801

E-mail: "mailto:prushton@iom.int">prushton@iom.int