Environment is unpublicized victim of war

Ranjan K Baruah *

Apart from living being like human being or animals, our environment is worse affected due to war or any armed conflict. We count the death causalities or wounded soldiers or missing soldiers but very less we see what happens to our environment.

What happens to water or soil or any other elements of nature or environment? Mostly environment remain unpublicized victim of any war or armed conflicts. Environment had to pay for the gain of military advantage.

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.

This year is the beginning of Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. With 17 universal and interdependent Sustainable Development Goals, the 2030 Agenda is a transformational blueprint for peace, prosperity and dignity for all on a healthy planet. To achieve SDGs, we must remember that we have a duty of care towards the environment.

This year on 27 May, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted resolution 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”.

Like many other international events a day has been declared to address the problem related to war, armed conflict and its impact on the environment. 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).

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of United Nations on his message related to this day said that “poor governance of the environment and natural resources can contribute to the outbreak of conflict. It can fuel and finance existing conflicts and it can increase the risk of relapse. Conversely, there are many examples of natural resources serving as catalysts for peaceful cooperation, confidence-building and poverty reduction.”

He also added that “in the aftermath of violent conflict, natural resources, such as land, timber, minerals, oil and gas, are often the primary assets that governments need to support livelihoods and economic recovery. How governments manage these resources can fundamentally alter the course of post-conflict peace building.

That is why it is so important that we work together to combat environmental crime, end the illegal exploitation of natural resources, improve transparency, share benefits more equitably and encourage the participation of women, indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups in decision-making.”

On this International Day, UN Secretary General has urged governments, businesses and citizens around the world to prioritize environmental care and the sustainable management of natural resources for preventing conflict, building peace and promoting lasting prosperity.

The 2030 Agenda explicitly recognizes that “sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security; and peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development. United Nations International Law Commission is currently reviewing the international legal framework for protecting the environment before, during and after armed conflict.

It aims to establish guidelines that can better support environmental preservation, particularly in protected areas and environmentally sensitive sites, such as drinking water aquifers, which are of critical environmental and cultural importance and can be severely affected by warfare.

War or conflict is not related to one particular region, hence international framework is needed. We are already worried about the impact of climate change. There must be action and government must commit for the safety of the environment.

All actors whether state actors or non state actors must respect the environment and peace is must to protect environment because as long as there is war or war like situation there is always threat to the nature and the environment.