Issue: 115
Photograph: © UNHCR / E. Gürel*
More than 200 partners in the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan (3RP) in Response to the Syria Crisis are calling on the international community to act faster to deliver on their pledges of support to the 3RP.
Against the USD 4.53 billion required for programmes implemented by UN agencies and NGOs under the plan, only USD 1.06 billion – 23 per cent – has been received as at the end of May, says the 3RP Regional Progress Report. This leaves a gap of some USD 3.47 billion.
“This massive crisis requires far more solidarity and responsibility-sharing from the international community than what we have seen so far,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. “But instead, we are so dangerously low on funding that we risk not being able to meet even the most basic survival needs of millions of people over the coming six months.”
Already, as a result of the funding shortfall, 1.6 million refugees have had their food assistance reduced this year; 750,000 children are not attending school; and lifesaving health services are becoming too expensive for many, including 70,000 pregnant women at risk of unsafe deliveries.
Some 86 per cent of urban refugees in Jordan live below the poverty line of USD 3.2 per day, while 45 per cent of refugees in Lebanon live in sub-standard shelters. Almost half of all those affected by this crisis are children and many of them, along with their families, struggle to cope with the distress caused by the violence and upheaval they have experienced.
The 3RP partners warn that if more funds are not forthcoming soon, up to 130,000 vulnerable families will not be provided with cash assistance to help them meet their basic needs and vulnerable people will stop receiving their monthly food vouchers altogether. The delivery of water and waste water services for millions of people across the region will be in jeopardy. Up to 1.7 million people may face winter this year without fuel, shelter, insulation, blankets or warm clothes. Last year a number of people, including children, lost their lives during the harshest winter the region has seen in four decades.
Halfway through the year, with less than a quarter of the required funding received and with winter just around the corner, 3RP partners urgently need funding certainty to plan and respond in time.
The Syria crisis has also had major social and economic impacts on host countries, which remain at the forefront of the crisis and are going through political, economic, social and security instabilities. Well into its fifth year, the Syria crisis is also having an impact on development and global security.
According to UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, “Lessons learned over the past four years of response to the Syria crisis show beyond doubt the importance of integrated humanitarian and development approaches based on building resilience. A well-funded 3RP will support stabilization by helping people get jobs, have access to microbusiness opportunities, and improve food security for families.”
The report notes that while pressures on host countries continue to grow, it is increasingly difficult for Syrians to find safety, including by seeking asylum. These difficulties have resulted in an increase in the number of Syrians seeking safety and refuge beyond the region, including by taking often dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean to try and reach Europe. Many Syrians have lost their lives as a result.
The report calls on the international community to share more of the burden with the host countries through the timely provision of funding and by providing solutions like additional resettlement opportunities and other forms of humanitarian admission for Syrian refugees. The 3RP partners warn that if the call for action remains unheeded, a generation of Syrians will be left behind and neighboring countries will continue to struggle to provide a public good that they cannot and should not have to bear alone.
3RP BACKGROUND
The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) in response to the Syria Crisis is an international appeal aimed at addressing refugee protection needs, the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable, and the longer-term socio-economic impacts of the Syria crisis on neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
The 3RP is a USD 5.5 billion funding appeal, comprising USD 1 billion of host government requirements and USD 4.5 billion for programmes implemented by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The appeal is planned on a scenario of 4.27 million Syrian refugees in the region by the end of 2015, and aims to assist more than 20 million other members of impacted local communities this year.
MEDIA CONTACTS IN 3RP PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
For contact details of agencies involved in the 3RP response, visit: http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/partnerlist.php
*These children in Nizip camp in Gaziantep province are only four of around 2 million Syrian refugee children in exile, and each of them misses their home, family, and friends… According to the Turkish authorities, as of mid-June 2015, out of an estimated around 1.8 million Syrian refugee population in Turkey, half are children. More than 200 partners in the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan (3RP) in Response to the Syria Crisis are calling on the international community to act faster to deliver on their pledges of support to the 3RP.
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Best practices on women friendly cities from many countries like Spain, Canada, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria were presented. In addition, best practices from Turkey were also shared with the participants.
Topics like “Woman and Urbanization”, “Gender Mainstreaming at Local Level” and “Community Engagement for Gender Equality” were discussed during the conference and there was a small grants fair.
38 projects, who has received grant support within the scope of Women Friendly Cities United Nations Joint Programme, were presented to the participants with presentation of Modern Sabahlar crew, which is a beloved radio programme.
Local administrators and non-governmental organizations from pilot cities participated to the conference.
Women Friendly Cities United Nations Joint Programme has been implemented in 12 provinces with the partnership of Ministry of Interior, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with the financial contribution of the SIDA (Sweden International Development Cooperation Agency).
Please click here to learn more about the Joint Programme: www.kadindostukentler.org
Voices around the world are demanding leadership and action in 2015 on poverty, inequality and climate change.
These universal challenges demand global action, and this year presents unprecedented opportunities for achieving the future we want.
This is the year when world leaders come together to adopt a new agenda for sustainable development. The new global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will guide policy and funding for the next 15 years, beginning with a historic pledge to end poverty.
For decades now, UNDP has demonstrated great effectiveness in influencing policy and building capacity as a trusted partner for stakeholders at the national, regional and global levels. Yet UNDP recognizes that it must do all of this better, and with a sharper focus, to meet present challenges and continue to deliver lasting and measurable development impact.
Highlights from the report
2015 is the year in which the 15-year quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals concludes, and a new era of global development commitments is expected to be launched with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by world leaders in September.
Despite impressive MDGs progress on poverty reduction in recent years, there are still 1 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day.
In 2014, UNDP created nearly 1 million jobs in low-income communities, and helped to boost earnings and strengthen livelihoods for millions of others.
UNDP, with its $1.3 billion portfolio of climate change projects in 140 countries, is a leader of UN efforts to combat global warming.
Through our electoral support programmes, UNDP helped to register 18 million new voters worldwide (including nearly 4 million in Afghanistan alone).
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This publication is the first global review of evidence around the contribution of volunteers to enhanced governance, a pre-requisite for the success of the new Sustainable Development Goals to be agreed at the United Nations in September.
The new post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, to be agreed at the United Nations in September, will only succeed if they include the voices of all people, and look into ways to engage communities more effectively, including through the power of volunteers and volunteering.
“We are showing the opportunities that Volunteering offers to countries and societies to improve sustainability, outreach, and scope of development results by engaging people… By creating environments for people to volunteer their time, it is possible to use their skills and knowledge for the common good in the sphere of governance,” said Richard Dictus, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.
Speaking at the launch of the report in New York, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said: “The potential of volunteers to help create truly people-centered development is enormous, but, as yet, far from fully tapped. Achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals will be helped by the participation of all sections of society. Volunteers have a critical role to play in representing the voices of those who are often excluded from development decisions, including women and other groups who may be marginalized”.
The State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2015 says there is widespread agreement that future development efforts will have to include different approaches in order to better engage people in their own, their communities’ and their countries’ development.
With this Report, United Nations Volunteers aim is to spark a global conversation about the untapped potential of volunteers in this area of governance that is so critical to future development success. As the world’s governments prepare a new roadmap to overcome sustainable development challenges, volunteers can be catalysts for inclusive development in their communities, countries and the world.
To access the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report 2015, please visit: www.volunteeractioncounts.org/en/swvr-2015.html.
For further information regarding the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, please visit www.unv.org and the UNV 2014 Annual Report at www.unv.org/annual-report-2014.
To find out more about UNV programme in Turkey, please visit: www.tr.undp.org/content/turkey/en/home/ourwork/partners/un-volunteers.html.
These publications mainly feature how innovative approach of UNDP’s work in Turkey have led to a more effective and interactive communication.
Two publications on Social Good Summit İstanbul meet-ups, organized in 2013 and 2014, is about what have been discussed in these events. These meet-ups have attracted a great deal attention from Turkish audience and there were exchange of information and ideas among the participants who are working to solve the greatest global challenges we are facing right now with new technologies and online communication tools.
The second volume of "Innovative Development Stories told through Innovative Communication" which includes 51.-110. episodes of New Horizons Podcasts. In every episode of New Horizons, we share selected stories from UNDP. New Horizons Podcasts are currently aired on fourteen radios. Our radio network is composed of one national radio, two local radios as well as eleven university radios all around Turkey.
Please click here to download the publications.
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International Climate Change Negotiations and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) Meeting was held in May in Antalya.
The draft negotiating text for the climate change agreement to be adopted in Paris in December 2015 and Turkey’s INDC for 2015 Climate Agreement were discussed at round table meetings.
Meeting was organized in the context of the Support for the Preparation of the Turkey's First Biennial Report (FBR) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Project implemented in cooperation of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Turkey.
Sixty representatives from Coordination Board on Climate Change and Air Management member institutions participated to the meeting, led by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Birpınar, Deputy Undersecretary of Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and Chief Negotiator for Climate Change.
A common understanding has been established among the participants as a result of the discussions on sub-headings of the 2015 Climate Agreement Negotiating Text such as the general objective, mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology development and transfer, time frames and process related to commitments / contributions.
It was stated that the referred discussions would provide significant contribution to ensure effective negotiations throughout the UNFCCC meetings.
In the context of the meeting, the study on the greenhouse gas emission trends and projections has been presented for the review of the participants and assessments on the issue of INDCs have been carried out.
The busy scheduled meeting held with the active participation of representatives from all relevant institutions was regarded as a milestone in the process towards the Paris 2015 Climate Summit.
In its 3rd issue, there are interviews with Tuğba Salman Gürcan, the chairman of SEPEV, about passive house and zero-energy buildings and also with Muhammed Adak, the Southeast Anatolia Regional Development Administration Vice President, about what is done within the scope of Organic Agriculture Cluster.
Moreover, there are also news from the region that are related to dissemination and awareness raising activities and demonstration projects by the Southeast Anatolia Regional Development Administration and GAP Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Center.
In this issue, there are articles predominantly on green houses, energy efficiency in buildings, passive houses and multi-comfort buildings. In addition to these, there are articles explaining the Organic Value Chain Pilot Projects Financial Support Programme, started with the partnership of Development Agencies and the power behind the Eğil Organic Farming Project, started to sparkle in the region.
GAP GREEN Magazine is published within the context of Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources and Increasing Energy Efficiency in the Southeast Anatolia Region Project, which is implemented by the Southeast Anatolia Regional Development Administration (GAP RDA) with the partnership of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The magazine focuses on driving development sectors of the region such as renewable energy, organic agriculture, eco-tourism that are came up with Competitiveness Agenda of the region.
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The workshop has been organized within the scope of “Integrated approach to management of forests in Turkey, with demonstration in high conservation value forests in the Mediterranean region” Project, shortly known as Integrated Forest Management Project.
The objective of the workshop was to plan and discuss on how to conduct the activities of component 2 and component 3 of the project. Component 2 is to implement methods in forestry sector that mitigate GHG emissions and enhance carbon sequestration capacity and component 3 is to strengthen the protection of high conservation value forests in Mediterranean landscape and ensure socio-economic development of forest villagers through integrated management approach.
50 people from General Directorate of Forestry, Nature Conservation Center, OR-KOOP, Chamber of Forest Engineers, UNDP and academia were participated to the workshop.
The three-day workshop has formed a base for the future activities of the project.
In the first day of the workshop, the objective and context of the components, roles of the project partners and expectations from the workshop were explained to participants.
On the second day of the workshop, the participants were divided into 6 groups for the group study, to work in line with the topics Fire Control, Silviculture, ORKÖY and Non-Wood Forest Products, Pest Control, Biodiversity and Integration to Forest Management Plans.
The group studies focused on the planning of how, when, where and by whom to conduct the activities and sub-activities under component 2 & 3 . On the third day of the workshop, the groups gave their presentations they prepared on the second day.
The three-day workshop has met the expectations and formed a base for the future activities of the project.
The project is executed by Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, General Directorate of Forestry, and implemented by UNDP Turkey with the financial support of GEF (Global Environment Facility).
The project aims to demonstrate the multi benefits of high conservation value forests in the Mediterranean Region, increase the conservation of biodiversity and carbon storage in these areas and encourage the implementation of integrated management approach in Turkey’s forest management.
To see all vacancies, click here.
Editor: Faik Uyanık
Assistant: Nazife Ece
Intern: Elif Yılmaz
Contributors to this issue: Deniz Tapan, Gözde Ata
Cover photo: ©UNHCR / E. Gürel
© 2014 UNDP Turkey
All rights of New Horizons are reserved to UNDP Turkey. Any use of information should be accompanied by an acknowledgment of New Horizons as the source citing the URL of the article.