Military activity and wetland-dependent wildlife: A warfare ecology perspective
Authors: Grimes Evan S. , Kneer Marissa L. , Berkowitz Jacob F. 
Published: March 2023

Wetlands provide unique habitat functions that benefit society by provisioning food, recreation, and ecosystem sustainability. Warfare affects the habitats of wetland-dependent reptiles, amphibians, and birds in both positive and negative ways, and opportunities exist to improve the management of wildlife habitat using a warfare ecology framework. Recent events in Ukraine highlight these relationships and provide stimulus to further consider the implications of current events for natural resources. In response, this commentary highlights both degradational and positive impacts of warfare on wetland fauna during the cyclical preparation, active conflict, and recovery phases. For example, the active conflict phase often initiates ecological disturbance regimes that couple large-scale landscape alteration with the release of chemicals and other materials into wetlands, leading to reduced reproductive potential and population declines in wetland-dependent species (e.g., amphibians, waterfowl) along with decreased overall wetland biodiversity and habitat quality. In contrast, wetland-dependent wildlife can benefit from (1) conservation activities occurring on military installations maintained to support training activities and (2) restoration efforts initiated after the cessation of combat. For example, many threatened and endangered reptiles and amphibians find refugia on military lands in the USA and internationally, and international protections for wetland resources (including the Ramsar Convention) have been established to promote their sustainability and wise use. Additional research is needed to improve the protection of valuable wetland resources by further enhancing ongoing conservation and planning efforts and improving strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of warfare on wetland dependent species throughout each phase of the warfare ecology cycle. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:2153–2161. Published 2023. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Key Points

Recent events in Ukraine highlight cyclical relationships between warfare and ecological outcomes in wetlands, and these linkages will become increasingly important as natural threats to the environment and human populations increase under anticipated future climate scenarios. Warfare poses unique challenges to wetland-dependent species and their habitats, which will be exacerbated under future climate scenarios that disproportionately affect populations near coastal areas and other wetland-rich landforms. The warfare ecology concept provides the best available framework (preconflict, active conflict, postconflict) to evaluate risks to wetland resources and identify opportunities to improve outcomes through conservation and restoration across each phase. Existing wetland protection conventions could be improved by incorporating specific guidance addressing the direct and indirect impacts of war on wetland species.