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| Sunday, 6 November 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Protecting the environment during armed conflict
Wherever there is war, the cost in terms of the human casualties and expenditure is taken into account. One aspect that is largely ignored or forgotten altogether is the impact of such conflicts on the environment. However, this is not an issue which could or should be neglected. Environmental damage is caused during wars by oil spills and chemical leaks due to bombing of factories, oil refineries and storage fields, deliberate acts of environmental sabotage (examples - draining of the Mesopotamian wetlands and burning Kuwaiti oil fields), use of landmines and other ammunition and destruction of habitats. Effects on the environment include polluted water, air and land, unregulated plunder of natural resources by warring parties, and the negative impact of mass population movements on water, biodiversity and other ecosystem services. These effects are long lasting, affect a large part of the population, sometimes even from neighbouring countries, and are reversible only in the long term. With more advanced and harmful weapons being used nowadays, the effects are on a much larger scale than they used to be. After the Balkan Wars of the nineties, the United Nations member states saw the need to assess the damage caused to the environment of these countries. In 1999, they requested the UN Environmental Programme and its sister agency, UN-HABITAT to set up the UNEP/Habitat Balkans Task Force to assess the impact of the war in the Balkan region. The organisations have conducted many monitoring missions and assessments to date. To focus on these issues, the UN General Assembly, on November 5, 2001, declared November 6 of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. In taking this action, it considered that damage to the environment in times of armed conflict impairs ecosystems and natural resources long after the period of conflict, often extending beyond the limits of national territories and the present generation. It also recalled the UN Millennium Declaration, which emphasised the necessity of working to protect our common environment. The day was celebrated for the first time on November 6, 2002 and is now in its third year. It reflects on the fact that the exploitation of nature as a tool in armed conflicts is nothing new in human history. Returning to normalcy will be difficult for people in such situations if the environment aspect is neglected. The day calls for the response and action of the international community to make these objectives successful. |
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