proposed solutions to environmental loss from armed conflict

The United States viewed a lack of access to natural resources such as oil as an environmental security threat. The definition could vary, depending on who was using it. For example, the impact of nuclear weapon production, or military polluting activities by the former Soviet Union and the long-term environmental impacts in relation to the US national security. Back then, the environment was seen as something that posed a threat to humans.

The concept of environmental security goes back to the Cold War era.

In this blog I will briefly outline why such an inclusive and environmental protection approach is needed and how it could be implemented. The environment can actually play a role in peacebuilding. In light of this week’s International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, I want to make a case for using a progressive environmental security concept that can help us tackle a range of environmental issues related to armed conflict, such as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, tensions over natural resources, conflict pollution, and damage to ecosystems. Addressing the conflict-environment nexus is becoming more urgent, as more armed conflicts around the world damage ecosystems upon which people depend. The collapse of Iraq’s environmental security is a cautionary tale that reminds us why this concept deserves more priority in the global debate related to climate change, natural resources, and armed conflicts.

More than 100,000 people have reportedly been poisoned by polluted water, while recent estimates warn that some 277,000 children are at risk of diseases, such as cholera due to rundown water and sanitation facilities at schools. The condition of their water infrastructure was deplorable after years of devastating wars, corruption, and droughts and regional hydropolitics. This summer, Iraqi citizens in Basra demonstrated in the streets to protest a serious public health crisis caused by polluted water. This article briefly outlines why such an inclusive and environmental protection approach is needed and how it could be implemented. Using a progressive environmental security concept can help to tackle a range of environmental issues related to armed conflict, such as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, tensions over natural resources, conflict pollution, and damage to ecosystems.

Proposed solutions to environmental loss from armed conflict