In Sierra Leone, for example, “When the guns fell silent in 2002 after a decade of conflict, our primary forests and savannahs fell silent too.“Deputy Foreign Minister Francess Piagie Alghali told the UN Security Council on Thursday.
“We witnessed the loss of biodiversity, the forced migration of wildlife and the abandonment of agricultural fields and swamps, all direct consequences of the armed conflict.”
Long term implications
Sierra Leone holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month and Ms Alghali chaired a debate on the environmental impact of armed conflict and climate-driven security risks.
It took place at a time when there are more armed conflicts around the planet than at any time since the end of the Second World War, and two billion people – a quarter of the world’s population – live in conflict-affected areas.
“Environmental damage caused by conflict continues to push people into hunger, disease and displacement, thereby increasing insecurity,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Conflicts cause pollution, waste and destruction of critical ecosystems, with long-term implications for food security, water security, the economy and health, he explained.
Meanwhile, climate change “exacerbates tensions” and can even contribute to conflicts (over water or land resources, for example).
Crop loss, pollution and flooding
Ms Andersen highlighted several examples, including the destruction of Gaza, where two years of war have led to the loss of 97 percent of tree crops, 95 percent of bushland and more than 80 percent of annual crops.
“Marine and freshwater ecosystems are contaminated by munitions, untreated sewage and other pollutants.“, he said, while “more than 61 million tons of debris must now be cleaned, with sensitivity to avoid further contamination.”
In Ukraine, the destruction of the Kakhova Dam in June 2023 “led to the flooding of more than 600 km² of land, resulting in severe loss of natural habitats, plant communities and species, due to prolonged flooding of ecosystems,” he added.
Legal offensive
The debate took place on the International Day to Prevent Environmental Exploitation in War and Armed Conflict and amid growing recognition of the need for global action.
“Significant efforts are being made to strengthen the international legal framework to protect the environment.”said law professor Charles C. Jalloh, a member of the International Law Commission (ILC), a UN body.
While there is still no binding universal treaty, he pointed to some of the “so-called soft law instruments” that have made contributions to date, including the set of 27 draft ILC principles, adopted in 2022.
“The principles, rooted in the law of armed conflict, international environmental law and international human rights law, sought to strengthen environmental protection before, during and after armed conflict, including in situations of occupation,” he said.
Strengthening links
Maranatha Dinat, from the humanitarian organization World Relief, delivered a message from Haiti, “where the combined impacts of environmental degradation, climate change and sociopolitical instability reinforce each other, undermining peace, security and sustainable development.”
He highlighted the need to “strengthen the links between humanitarian action, climate adaptation and peacebuilding” to boost resilience, promote social cohesion and ensure lasting stability.
Ms. Andersen described how the international community can help countries affected by conflict, starting with rebuilding their environmental management capacity.
This support “enables governments to manage natural resources for sustainable development, economic recovery and climate adaptation, thereby reducing poverty, hunger and aid dependency.”
Climate adaptation and mitigation
He also called for greater investments in climate adaptation. UNEP this week published its latest Emissions Gap Report, which revealed that the world is struggling to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
“Therefore, as we head to Belém for COP30, great ambition is needed in both adaptation and mitigation,” he said.
“Every fraction of a degree matters, and every fraction of a degree avoided means fewer losses for people and ecosystems, and greater opportunities for peace and prosperity.”