Rich in natural resources and biodiversity, South Sudan’s environmental management must contribute to immediate economic growth while protecting its ecosystems and resource base.

Competition over resources can drive conflict, particularly in times of scarcity, so effective resource management is critically important for peace-building and conflict prevention.

In South Sudan, UNESCO is aiming at:

• Strengthening science, technology and innovation systems and policies for sustainable development, poverty alleviation and peace-building
• Mobilizing science for sustainable use of natural resources and for natural disaster reduction and mitigation.
•  Targeting cross-cutting issues such as climate change adaptation and mitigation
• Addressing emergency needs caused by new pressures on resources due to conflict-related movements of people and animals. 

In our future programme (2014-16), we plan to focus on education and capacity building in several mutually-reinforcing areas:

• Improving integrated water management
• Managing groundwater resources
• Strengthening disaster preparedness and risk reduction
• Safeguarding natural ecosystems and promoting environmentally sustainable development.