Speak Up and Renew Commitment to Protect our Planet Even in Face of Hostile Armed Aggression: International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
Tags: Armed Conflict, Environmental Protection, United Nations

Speak Up and Renew Commitment to Protect our Planet Even in Face of Hostile Armed Aggression: International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict HThirukumaran Nov 23, 2020·3 min read

By Harrish Thirukumaran

On 5 November 2001, the UN General Assembly declared 6 November of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict (A/RES/56/4).

Though mankind has always counted its war casualties in terms of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war. Water wells have been polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed to gain military advantage.

Furthermore, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found that over the last 60 years, at least 40 percent of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources, whether high-value resources such as timber, diamonds, gold and oil, or scarce resources such as fertile land and water. Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to relapse.

The United Nations attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies — because there can be no durable peace if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed.

On 27 May 2016, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted resolution UNEP/EA.2/Res.15, which recognized the role of healthy ecosystems and sustainably managed resources in reducing the risk of armed conflict, and reaffirmed its strong commitment to the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals listed in General Assembly resolution 70/1, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

Wars in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Iraq have led to the immense loss of natural resources. In Afghanistan itself, deforestation rates have reached 95 per cent in some areas. In 2017, the Islamic State triggered vast toxic clouds that set ablaze oil wells and a sulfur factory near the Iraqi city of Mosul, poisoning the landscape and people.

Critical biodiversity hotspots in Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan have offered cover and refuge for rebel groups.

It has proven disastrous for wildlife and forest conservation as these habitats have opened the doors to illegal logging, unregulated mining, massive poaching and breeding grounds for invasive species. In Gaza, Yemen, and elsewhere, water infrastructure, from groundwater wells to wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations to desalination plants have been damaged, posing environmental and public health risks. So, it would be considered a dangerous mistake to ignore these environmental consequences of conflict, requiring the international community to act with a greater sense of urgency.

As with previous days of observance, it is imperative that this International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict be an opportunity to speak up boldly and renew commitment to protecting our imperiled planet even in the face of hostile armed aggression.

This is all the more important given that a commitment to protect our planet from the devastating effects of war and especially at a time where our warming planet is already threatened by the impacts of runaway climate change. Advocate for the environment in the presence of conflict.