Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks
HNPW 2025 (17 - 28 March 2025)
          


 
Session title: Collaboration on human health risk assessment of oil spill in Syria: value of niche technical expertise in humanitarian aid?
Organizer(s): UNICEF, RVO-DRRS, NICOLE foundation
17 Mar 25 10:00-11:00
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SessionAbstract

Oil leaks have been observed in water streams across Northeast Syria (NES) since 2014 due to poor waste management in oil facilities. Rivers visually contaminated with oil flooded agricultural lands. Surface and groundwater contamination by oil and chemicals could cause environmental and humanitarian impacts: threatening access to safe water for the communities, increasing health risks, impacting water sources and fertile lands for food production, and compromising the livelihoods of farmers. This situation is even more worrying because the NES area was already affected by a water scarcity crisis with over 1,8 million people lacking proper access to safe water. Then, late December 2024, the Syrian world was turned upside down in a matter of a single weekend, due to the quick change in the political situation and leadership of the country.

In this context, in consultation with the Northeast Syria WASH Working Group (NES WWG), the Whole of Syria (WoS) WASH Cluster sought technical support for mapping and assessing the impact of the Oil Spillover in NES, and for proposing practical corrective measures for short, medium and long term to reduce the negative impact of oil contamination on surface and ground water, as well as agricultural lands and ecosystem.

Based on this need, UNICEF has reached out to RVO-DRRS in the Netherlands to urgently identify an expert in oil spillover response. RVO-DRRS reached out to NICOLE Foundation to identify such expert and NICOLE Foundation has mobilized a team to provide such expertise. The NICOLE Foundation is a non-profit niche player offering a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach to manage and remediate legacy contamination by pooling resources, knowledge, and expertise from the Foundation’s extensive network of experts.

This session will show how this unique collaboration is developing while the assessment is being executed both remotely and on the ground. Lessons learned and opportunities for improvement will be discussed. Tools for remote deployment in collaboration with on the ground teams will be presented. Is this an example that can be used in a wider context? Can this method be applied to larger river systems in conflict/disaster or post conflict/disaster situations?



Agenda



    • Introduction of speakers

    • Context: Syria, Oil spill,
      conflict

    • Approach to human health risk
      assessment of oil spills


      • Collaboration: experts, remote,
        on the ground, partners

      • Conceptual model of contamination

      • First results and way forward


    • Value of collaboration, a guided
      panel discussion


      • UNICEF

      • DRRS

      • NICOLE foundation

      • NES WASH Working Group


    • Continued panel discussion with
      questions from the audience (moderated via chat)

    • Adjourn and thanks



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