Environmental Degradation from Conflict

Primary reference(s)

UNISDR, 2009. UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Accessed 25 November 2019. Accessed 25 November 2019.

Additional scientific description

The types of human-induced degradation are varied and include land misuse, soil erosion and loss, desertification, wildland fires, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, mangrove destruction, land, water and air pollution, climate change, sea-level rise and ozone depletion (UNISDR, 2009:6). Environmental degradation occurs during peace time but can be particularly exacerbated by an armed conflict. The level of environmental damage from conflict depends on several factors: the weapons as well as the tactics used; location of the military operations (e.g. rural vs urban, proximity to industrial sites), the duration of the military conflict (Jensen, 2019) and the pre-war environmental conditions (Biswas, 2000). In parallel, countries might enter the vicious cycle between environmental degradation and conflict as pollution and environmental hazards can on the other hand undermine security and lead to political instability, disasters and regional tensions (Conca and Wallace, 2009). Metrics and numeric limits Not identified.

Metrics and numeric limits

Not identified.

Examples of drivers, outcomes and risk management

The impact of conflicts on the environment is three-fold: direct impact, secondary impact, and environmental governance impact.

Direct impact includes intentional targeting of the environment, physical destruction, or the use of natural resources by militant groups to finance conflict, environmental contamination from bombing of industrial sites, and military debris and demolition waste from targeted infrastructure (Solomon et al., 2018; Jensen, 2019). Modern military confrontation may involve exposure to toxic substances and substances of uncertain toxicity, such as depleted uranium used in munition. Large amounts of depleted uranium may remain deposited in soil after the end of the military operations. It represents a significant hazard due to potential contamination of air, soil and water (Murray et al., 2002). Furthermore, conflict can impact the environment regionally (Hopke, 2009).

Secondary impact results from the coping strategies used by the population to survive in conflict, such as overuse of natural resources, environmental damage due to population displacements, growth of a black market for natural resources during conflict, and implementation of large-scale humanitarian and peacekeeping operations without due consideration to environmental impact (Jensen, 2019).

Third, military conflicts frequently weaken environmental governance structures, and hinder policy coordination, investment and the enforcement of law (UNEP, 2009; Bruch, 2019; Jensen 2019). The financial resources and technical equipment usually utilised for environmental law enforcement can be redirected to war needs (Bruch, 2019). The breakdown of environmental governance is potentially the most challenging impact to address (Bruch et al., 2016; Jensen, 2019). The consequences are long-term, persistent and affect larger territories than from direct impact (Jensen, 2019). For instance, conflicts are generally known to have negative direct and secondary impacts on biodiversity (Solomon et al., 2018). However, a study at UC Berkley suggested that during armed conflicts, institutional collapse kills even more wildlife than military tactics (Gaynor et al., 2016).

Nevertheless, the impact of environmental damage in conflicts on human lives and health is still poorly documented and addressed in conflict resolution and humanitarian assistance (Toxic Remnants of War Network, 2015).

Protection of the environment during a military conflict has the potential to facilitate peacebuilding (Conca and Wallace, 2009), or in case of failure to respond, can hinder further peacebuilding efforts (Jensen and Lonergan, 2012). Assurance of implementation of international law, training of military personnel (including revision of military training manuals regarding protection of environment in conflict), integration of environmental considerations including biodiversity conservation into military, reconstructions and humanitarian programmes in conflict areas, are some of the measures than can help mitigate environmental damage from conflict.