The Indonesian island of Sumatra has been the scene of numerous devastating disasters, most recently the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and a series of earthquakes which have destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. Charles Kelly, a member of ProAct Network, has been in Sumatra to ensure that environmental support is available for humanitarian experts who are working to provide homes and shelter for those affected by the 2009 earthquake in Padang, on the west coast of the island.

How are you helping provide suitable shelter for people who lost their homes?

We have called on Jasmine Sathiagnananon, an expert from ProAct's pool of environment-advisors, to serve on Sumatra's Shelter Cluster – a group of humanitarian specialists tasked with ensuring there is an effective and comprehensive approach to managing shelter in the disaster-affected area. Jasmine’s role is to work as an integral part of the Shelter Cluster team, offering guidance on environmental issues related to shelter.

Why is ProAct involved in supporting the Shelter Cluster in West Sumatra?

ProAct has worked with CARE International and WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature), with funding from the Global Shelter Cluster, to create a cadre of environmental advisors who can support humanitarian shelter operations around the world. ProAct has to date facilitated the training of some 50 environment advisors for the Global Shelter Cluster. These people are based in many different countries and can be quickly called to the scene of a disaster to offer guidance on a wide range of issues, from dealing with large amounts of waste and debris to helping identify suitable – and unsuitable - sites for accommodating displaced people. Jasmine was called on to help in Sumatra, while another ProAct-trained environment advisor is being deployed to support the Shelter Cluster in Haiti.

ProAct is also one of the co-ordinating members of the Environment Reference Group for the Global Shelter Cluster (together with WWF). In this role, ProAct works on raising awareness about environmental issues related to shelter, on improving the capacity of shelter operations to consider and address related environmental issues and on providing environmental advisors to shelter cluster field deployments.

How does the environment tie in with shelter?

Constructing shelter usually means taking resources from the environment. If you don't consider the possible impacts, you could end up causing a lot of unnecessary damage, which may ultimately affect livelihoods. For example, after the earthquake in Haiti some aid organisations distributed plastic sheeting for shelter, but people had nothing with which to support the plastic so they resorted to cutting trees to use as poles. Haiti already has a serious deforestation problem and many of the trees being cut were young so people were destroying important resources for their future. Had an environment advisor been present at the shelter planning stage, he or she could have drawn attention to the likely pressure on wood resources and explored less damaging options, such as bringing in wood from elsewhere or using other materials to hold up sheeting, like metal or plastic poles.

What are some of the key environmental challenges resulting from the earthquake in Sumatra?

Again, there is a wood problem. Sumatra is an earthquake-prone region and people often have to rebuild their homes, most often with wood. Legally, it's difficult to cut many species of trees at the moment, so people are turning to palm wood for lumber. There is currently quite a lot of palm wood available but if it is used in a large-scale housing programme it will be necessary to consider the environmental impacts of such clearance, which might include replanting schemes. Another key issue relates to the surprising amount of debris which has not yet been cleared, but needs to be dealt with. The environmental impact of temporary sites housing displaced people as well as the choice of sites for final, permanent relocation also need to be considered more carefully.

How do you think international humanitarian organisations could work more effectively in situations like these?

One key thing Jasmine is doing at the moment is identifying and building links with local NGOs to incorporate their input into the recovery process. Local organisations are likely to have valuable knowledge of environmental issues, resources and opportunities, from debris management and recycling to identifying suitable sources of timber and other construction materials. Local NGOs are not always consulted during humanitarian operations, despite the fact they may have a great deal to offer.

Environment training modules for Emergency Shelter Experts