The Humanitarian Environment Network (REH), through its Environmental Assessments Working Group (EA WG), aims to improve the integration of environmental issues into projects by promoting the use of rapid environmental assessment tools.
In 2024, the working group developed and launched the MERA, a multi-sectoral matrix for analysing environmental risks across various humanitarian sectors (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Food Security and Livelihoods; Mental Health and Psychosocial Support; and, more recently, Health & Nutrition). This matrix was developed by the working group members in collaboration with a broad community of practice, notably from the humanitarian clusters.
The ‘MERA pilot project’, launched in January 2026 in Burkina Faso, aims to gather lessons learnt on the use of the MERA by field teams. More specifically, the aim is to identify recommendations for a potential revision of the tool (content, format, etc.), its presentation sheet and the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting a rapid environmental assessment.
13 international and national NGOs volunteered to take part in this pilot project. Following training by the EA Working Group, the NGO teams carried out, in March–April 2026, independently and with remote support from the EA Working Group, environmental assessments of their projects, following various protocols.
The co-analysis workshop organised in mid-April, with the support of Groupe URD, is a key stage in the process: it enables the participating teams to collectively analyse the results of the assessments carried out and toidentify lessons for improving the MERA and environmental assessment practices.
This support from Groupe URD is provided as part of the APIC 3 project (Learning and innovating to improve crisis response) with the support of the French Development Agency, the Fondation de France, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the Principality of Monaco.