Building resilience through Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE)
Natural disasters and conflicts disrupt livelihoods, threaten food security and are responsible for millions of forcibly displaced people. The number of conflicts is on the rise and, exacerbated by climate related shocks, are a cause of much of the recent deterioration of the global food security situation. Conflict is a key driver of situations of severe food crisis and increases the risk of famines, while hunger and undernutrition are significantly worse where conflicts are prolonged and institutional capacities weak. Furthermore, the number of climate-induced disasters has increased significantly over the last decade with floods, droughts and tropical storms having the most severe impact on the agricultural sectors. More than 80 percent of the loss and damage caused by drought affects the agriculture sectors, in particular livestock and crop production.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working with its partners to address these challenges by building the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises. Through its Strategic Programme on Resilience, FAO is promoting the use of integrated approaches and conflict sensitive programming to address the threats posed by conflict, climate shocks and natural resource degradation. The Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) approach is a pertinent example. FAO has been promoting SAFE in forced displacement contexts in order to assess risks and design comprehensive interventions that can respond effectively to the fuel and energy needs of affected populations while taking into account the sustainable management of natural resources. The approach harnesses expertise from a range of technical areas related to FAO's core mandate and helps to fill the gap caused by years of overlooking the crucial importance of the energy sector in the response to acute emergencies and protracted crises.
This report presents an overview of FAO's work on SAFE and the steps needed to scale up the approach. FAO remains fully committed to support efforts that improve access to energy for vulnerable populations so that they can cook their food, heat their homes and power their communities in a safe and sustainable way.
