For more than 40 years, Sudan has been hosting refugees from neighbouring countries, many of whom were settled in Gedaref and Kassala States. The impacts on ecologically fragile areas that have not known such high concentrations or demands have been considerable, affecting both the region’s physical environment and social and economic fabric. Repatriation of refugees has been ongoing since the late-1990s. Camp closures started in 2002 together with the handing over of camp facilities to local authorities after repair and environmental restoration. Camps facilities also benefited host communities and among the users of the health and school facilities, 30 and 20 percent respectively are Sudanese. By the end of 2000, a number of refugees opted to remain where they had settled for the past decades, with some of them now largely self-sufficient.

Due to the need to continue camp closures and handing over of sites and facilities to local authorities, a plan of action, ‘the Blue Book’, was elaborated for the states of Gedaref and Kassala. This action plan listed prioritized environmental rehabilitation projects and refurbishment of camps’ infrastructures such as schools, hospitals and water and sanitation facilities.

The Blue Book became the basis for elaboration of the SOLSES inter-agency partnership agreement that aims at linking humanitarian assistance to longer-term sustainable development through building sustainable livelihoods for people living in and around former camps and rehabilitation of social and physical camp infrastructures for both the Eritrean and Sudanese population groups.

For more information please contact: earo@iucn.org