This page lists resources published by UNDP and partners across various thematic areas. Please scroll down to view the publications of your thematic interest:
- Climate, Peace and Security
- Disaster Risk Reduction, Recovery and Resilience Building
- Early Recovery
- Forced Displacement
- Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus
- Livelihoods
Climate, Peace and Security
Beyond vulnerability: A guidance note on youth, climate, peace and security
Around 47% of youth aged 18–29 live in conflict-affected countries, with 250 million in least developed countries facing severe climate impacts, especially in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and Central Africa. This Guidance Note bridges the Climate, Peace, and Security and Youth, Peace, and Security agendas, highlighting youth-led efforts to address climate-related security risks and providing practical guidance for a unified approach.
Gender, Climate and Security: Sustaining inclusive peace on the frontlines of climate change
Climate change is a significant threat to peace and security, with unequal impacts shaped by gender norms and power dynamics. This report provides a framework for understanding the links between gender, climate, and security, offering recommendations for policymakers, development practitioners, and donors to advance peace, climate action, and gender equality.
Re-envisioning Climate Change Adaptation Policy to Sustain Peace - A Typology and Analysis of the National Adaptation Plans
The Study maps the extent to which climate, peace and security intersections are addressed in the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and offers a blueprint for the mainstreaming of climate-related security risks into the NAPs and for synergies between adaptation policies and peacebuilding efforts.
Climate Finance for Sustaining Peace: Making climate finance work for conflict-affected and fragile contexts
This Study examines trends in climate finance access in conflict-affected and fragile contexts, identifying gaps, opportunities, and strategies for integrating climate-related security risks. A metadata analysis of 955 projects reveals that conflict and fragility impact climate finance access and implementation, suggesting that qualifying co-benefits or peace dividends can incentivize investments, although the generally applied Theories of Change need reconstruction.
Climate Security Mechanism Toolbox: Conceptual Approach
This Note outlines a conceptual approach to understanding the links between climate change, peace, and security within the UN system, emphasizing how climate change interacts with socio-political, economic, and demographic factors to cause instability. It advocates for coordinated, cross-sectoral efforts to address climate-related security risks and supports decision-making processes, while being flexible and adaptable but not a substitute for comprehensive climate vulnerability assessments.
Bridging Generations: Pathways to a Youth-Inclusive Climate, Peace and Security Agenda
Over 698 million young people, ages 15-35, live in fragile, conflict-affected settings highly impacted by climate change, making them vulnerable yet crucial actors for driving change. This policy paper explores UNDP’s Climate, Peace, and Security policy and programming's engagement with youth, highlighting gaps, challenges, opportunities, and early recommendations for integrating youth-sensitive approaches.
Guidance Note: Climate, Peace and Security in Latin America and the Caribbean
Climate change exacerbates structural weaknesses and impacts the most vulnerable areas. Simultaneously, 12 of the 20 most vulnerable countries in conflict in 2020 receive less climate finance. This policy note outlines how UNDP might engage with climate, peace, and security in Latin America and the Caribbean, identifying potential entry points for action.
Reviewing climate-related human mobility in Latin American and Caribbean’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Action Plans (NAPs)
Including human mobility priorities in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Action Plans (NAPs) can enhance adaptation, resilience, and measures against climate-induced loss and damage. This assessment finds that Latin America and the Caribbean have more NDCs and NAPs than other regions, with higher engagement in displacement, migration, and relocation categories.
The climate security nexus and the prevention of violent extremism: Working at the intersection of major development challenges
This Policy Brief examines lessons from efforts to prevent violent extremism in fragile contexts affected by climate change, using country examples and insights from UNDP's work streams and an online consultation. It highlights the need for policies to address climate-related security risks and calls for further research on effective practices.
Toward new policies for the climate change and violent extremism nexus in Africa
This Policy Brief examines climate security, violent extremism, and intrastate conflict through interviews and literature, focusing on cases in the Central Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, and Somalia. It concludes that grievances influenced by climate change should be assessed within a contextual framework and offers ten recommendations for better policy and project design.
Disaster Risk Reduction, Recovery and Resilience Building
UNDP’s work on DRR, recovery and resilience building
UNDP's disaster risk reduction and recovery efforts, aligned with the UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025, focus on strengthening capacities to handle diverse risks like crises, conflicts, natural hazards, climate change, and socio-economic shocks.
The UNDP Approach to Risk-Informed Development
UNDP's risk-informed development approach, aligned with the UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025, aims to accelerate sustainable development and ensure inclusive progress and human security. It outlines directions for partnerships and resource mobilization, and details how UNDP's Global Policy Network supports country offices and programme countries through innovative services and tools.
Beyond Drought: A Systems Thinking Approach to Drought Resilience in the Horn of Africa
Drought and food insecurity are severe global threats, with the Horn of Africa experiencing its worst drought in 40 years between 2020 and 2023. This Outcome Report shares insights from expert roundtables, aiming to understand and address these issues, and to co-create pathways for a drought-free and food-secure Horn of Africa.
Process Quick Start Guide: A hindsight-insight-foresight approach to working with multidimensional risk
This Quick Start Guide, from the "What if we were able to avert the next famine in the Horn of Africa?" project, outlines a hindsight-insight-foresight approach to understanding multidimensional risk. It encourages viewing risk as an opportunity for collective action and resilience-building, inspiring stakeholders to collaboratively analyse and develop effective mitigation strategies.
Choosing Your Tomorrows: Using Foresight and Anticipatory Governance to Explore Multiple Futures in Support of Risk-Informed Development
The future's complex uncertainties and unknown risks, challenge sustainable development, but foresight and alternative futures enable anticipatory, risk-informed, and forward-looking development. Embracing foresight in the risk-informed development process fosters governance that is prepared for diverse future challenges.
UNDP’s Urban Risk Management and Resilience Strategy
Based on the analytical review of urban risk and resilience initiatives over the past decade, this strategy provides an evidence-based approach to urban resilience and risk management, contributing to SDG11 and advancing the Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement, and New Urban Agenda. It aims to align UNDP's disaster and climate risk management with its development agenda, enhancing city-level actions to protect development gains and build resilience against multidimensional risks.
Handbook on Owner-Driven Housing Reconstruction
The Handbook on ODHR is based on UNDP's post-earthquake housing reconstruction programme in Nepal, which rebuilt, repaired, and retrofitted 26,912 houses after the 2015 earthquake. It offers guidance on all phases of housing reconstruction, emphasizing risk reduction and sustainability.
Handbook on Recovery Institutions: A Guidebook for Recovery Leaders and Practitioners
The Handbook is designed for those involved in managing disaster recovery within government agencies, offering institutional options, successful characteristics, and management lessons from real-world disaster recovery operations. It serves as a valuable planning tool for practitioners and policymakers in designing, managing, and assessing post-disaster recovery efforts.
Disaster recovery framework guide
This guide is a practical, results-focused tool for governments and partners to plan resilient post-disaster recovery, outlining key planning and decision-making processes for recovery policies and programs. It is primarily for stakeholders involved in preparedness, planning, and management of recovery and reconstruction activities, offering new and improved examples of recovery experiences.
Getting Ahead of the Crisis Curve: A UNDP Practice Brief on Early Warning, Preparedness and Anticipation
The UNDP Practice Note on Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Preparedness advocates for shifting from reactive crisis response to preventive action, emphasizing disaster risk as a combination of hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and capacity. It provides guidance on integrating early warning and preparedness into development agendas, along with practical principles for effective implementation.
Anticipating the Impacts of Climate Change Related Human Mobility in Pakistan and Viet Nam
Without significant action, climate change could result in 143 million internal 'climate migrants' by 2050. This UNDP report anticipates the scale and nature of this mobility in Pakistan and Viet Nam, highlighting key risks, opportunities, uncertainties, and interconnected variables through a participatory foresight process with experts and stakeholders.
A Resilient Future for All: Advancing Disability Inclusion in Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience and Leaving No One Behind
This UNDP Policy Brief highlights disability inclusion as essential for building resilient communities and achieving the SDGs' commitment to 'leave no one behind.' It provides principles and good practices for disability inclusion in disaster risk reduction and recovery, promoting inclusive approaches that address the diverse rights and needs of persons with disabilities.
Early Recovery
Case studies on Ground-Level Applications of the HDP Nexus through Early Recovery
Yemen: Community mobilization and organization around recovery initiatives, with focus on women groups; UNDP-LMMPO around business oriented initiatives, while the other side (FAO-ARD) around WUA and irrigation schemes.
Syria: Sector 7 Main Irrigation Water Pumping Station Rehabilitation, Deir ez-Zor Governorate. Watch the video.
Forced Displacement
UNDP and UNHCR Global Collaboration Framework for Inclusion and Solutions (2023-2025)
The UNDP and UNHCR Global Collaboration Framework for Inclusion and Solutions (2023-2025) leverages both agencies' strengths to better address current and future crises, outlining its background, strategy, focuses, and guiding principles. Aligned with the UNDP Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and UNHCR Strategic Directions (2022-2026), it targets seven collaboration areas: livelihoods, SDG integration, rule of law/local governance, conflict prevention/peacebuilding, climate change/environment, internal displacement, and statelessness.
Turning The Tide on Internal Displacement: A Development Approach to Solutions
Internal displacement, affecting over 59 million people by the end of 2021, poses a significant challenge to sustainable development and achieving critical goals. The UNDP report, "Turning the tide on internal displacement," recommends key development solutions for governments, including equal access to rights, socio-economic integration, security restoration, social cohesion, and improved data and research.
Institutional Strategy on Development Solutions to Internal Displacement
Record numbers of people have been displaced within their own countries due to conflict, violence, and disasters, with millions more expected due to extreme weather and environmental degradation. The UNDP's new Institutional Strategy on Development Solutions to Internal Displacement aims to help countries address this issue through nationally owned solutions, recognizing IDPs as citizens with rights, and promoting sustainable recovery and development pathways.
Forced Migration Review: Socio-economic integration: towards solutions for displaced people
The quest for socio-economic integration for displaced people and host communities raises fundamental questions about autonomy and dignity. The Forced Migration Review, Issue 71 offers new perspectives on integration, highlighting displaced people's voices and strategies, and is available online in both a Magazine and a shorter Digest format, with support from UNDP.
Appraisal Tool on the Inclusion of Forcibly Displaced and Stateless Persons in National Frameworks for the Achievement of the SDGs
Developed by UNDP and UNHCR, this tool is designed for country-level application by governments, UN agencies, and stakeholders. It aims to provide consultative analysis, identify actions and support needs, align SDGs with the Global Compact on Refugees, and foster multi-stakeholder partnerships and resource mobilization, focusing on nine prioritized pillars.
UNDP pledge at GRF 2023
At the GRF in 2023, UNDP pledged to expand its work with national and local governments and partners, promoting innovative solutions, supporting more focused financing and expanding prevention and peacebuilding programming.
UNDP UNHCR Partnership on Forced Displacement
Since the 1960s, UNDP and UNHCR have collaborated on humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding initiatives for displaced people and host communities. Their Global Joint-Action Plan, established in 2017, focuses on policy coordination, the Global Compact on Refugees, rule of law, local governance, peacebuilding, internal displacement, and livelihoods, with a regional focus including Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Partnership in Action - UNDP and UNHCR Cooperation on Forced Displacement and Statelessness
Forced displacement is increasing due to conflicts, persecution, and disasters, necessitating greater international responsibility sharing and integrated humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding responses. The UNDP and UNHCR report showcases joint efforts under the Global Collaboration Framework for Inclusion and Solutions (2023-2025), highlighting diverse collaborations in countries like Afghanistan, Colombia, and Myanmar to benefit displaced, stateless, and host communities.
Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus
Exploring Nexus Case Studies: Lessons, Connections, and Challenges
The UNDP Crisis Academy equips practitioners with knowledge and skills for crisis response, recovery, and prevention through a three-track approach: learning, community, and action. It blends cutting-edge training with a global network and real-world application to foster innovative, localized solutions that bridge humanitarian, development, and peace efforts.
Explore the case studies here and here
Livelihoods
Emerging practices to improve access to and working conditions on digital labour platforms for refugees and host communities
Forcibly displaced people depend on earning a living, and digital labor platforms offer opportunities but face criticism for job insecurity and exclusion. This joint ILO, UNDP, and UNHCR report recommends best practices for fair online work and urges governments to update regulations to support platform workers, benefiting displaced workers, host communities, and businesses.