ScottMatrixWar

=**War and it's Environmental Consequences**=



"//War is never an isolated act." (Clausewitz, 1831) [4]//
It is not often that war and environmental sustainability are discussed together. This is likely because the very root of war is destruction – of one's enemy and anything relevant to that enemy. War is life or death, which means that any advantage possible must be exploited, no matter the cost. The problem is that as the human race has advanced and created new technologies, the potential for destruction has become much larger and as such the effects can be longer lasting and affect an ever-increasing matrix of victims. While many of the direct results of modern warfare are clear, it grows increasingly difficult to asses the web of secondary effects. Since 1990, “more than 100 [armed] conflicts have erupted,” and today there are roughly 40 conflicts taking place in the world. [12] In addition, the spread of technology to lower-income nations has inevitably included weapons which enable conflicts and destruction to happen in arenas where environmental stability is hardly regulated to begin with. While it may be easy for them to acquire the means for destruction, “groups such as the Congolese Liberation Movement are not likely to have the means or the motivation [to limit environmental impact].” [12]

**Direct Effects of War** Many of the direct effects of war involve military equipment that has been left behind and can affect unintended populations and geographies far into the future. During World War I, an Allied ship containing one million pounds of mustard gas was sunk by Germany. “The slowly leaking gas is expected to pollute surrounding water for the next 400 years.” [5] Similarly, World War II resulted in over 1,000 sunken ships in the Pacific which will affect the ocean for years to come as they release oil, gases, and other unknown toxics. The clean-up and removal of these ships would be an enormous, if not impossible task, so instead they remain at the bottom of the ocean. Depleted uranium is another example of a military resource left behind. During the Gulf War, 300 tonnes of depleted uranium were used, mainly in anti-tank weapons because of it's high density. [9] The problem is that because these artillery explode on impact, it is practically impossible to clean up the material after it has been used. A 2002 study on depleted uranium from the Journal of Applied Toxicology showed that the material can cause birth defects and poor bone formation, kidney damage, nervous system effects, and cancer. [1] The study concluded that “the use of depleted uranium during the Gulf and Kosovo Wars … will be felt for thousands of years.” Explosive landmines are also left behind after a conflict, and because they are cheap and relatively easy to make they are incredibly common in warfare, especially in the Middle East and Asia. Estimates range from 20 million to over 100 million landmines that are still active in over 70 countries worldwide, and they can remain active for more than 50 years. [3] Not only is it incredibly expensive to find and remove landmines (estimates say $33 billion to remove every current landmine from the Earth [3]), but until they are removed that land is completely unusable. Military equipment such as landmines and depleted uranium represent the more direct affects of war that while they are easier to assess, they certainly aren't easy to fix.

**Indirect Effects of War** Modern warfare has the also potential to create a disastrous chain of effects that while they may not be the direct intended impact, they still have the power to affect humanity and the environment on a large scale. The outbreak of conflicts in lower-income regions has resulted in a number of problems ranging from plundering of the environment to widespread human health problems. In many of these areas, social services are weak or non-existent even in times of peace, so with the introduction of conflict, these social structures collapse and leave everyone to fend for themselves in terms of water, food, and other basic needs. Guerrilla armies and refugees alike take to poaching of animals, deforestation, and raping the land of all it's natural resources with little thought to the consequences. Refugee deforestation in Rwanda destroyed 300 square kilometers of Virunga National Park in search of food and wood. [9] Also, “decades of civil war in Angola have left … only 10% of their 1975 population wildlife levels.” [12] Many of these actions have consequences won't simply affect the local populace, but will lead to greater consequences such as severe floods and climate changes that can impact large populations for multiple generations.

**Conclusion** It may seem impossible or unreasonable to ask modern warfare tactics to consider the environment and other sustainability consequences, but as sustainability grows in popularity and becomes a part of many topics, it should certainly be considered as a part of war too. A number of organizations exist today to help alleviate the environmental impact of war, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Also, there are a number of treaties that have been passed since the 1990's to ban landmines and regulate the use of chemical weapons, and an 'International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict' has been created. The difficulty is that with many of the conflicts taking place outside of UN-governed countries, it is hard to regulate or enforce environmental consideration. Also an equally daunting task is to attempt to clean up the wars that have already taken place. I think that the only hope is for the 'developed' countries of the world to lead by example and continue to incorporate environmental sustainability into their warfare tactics.

1. Abu-Qare, Aqel W., and Mohamed B. Abou-Donia. "Depleted Uranium - The Growing Concern." //Journal of Applied Toxicology// 22 (2002): 149-152. Print.
 * Sources**

2. Adley, Jessica, and Andrea Grant. "The Environmental Consequences of War." //Sierra Club Canada//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

3. Bonsor, Kevin. "How Landmines Work." //HowStuffWorks//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

4. Clausewitz, Karl von. On War, trans. and ed. Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), 78.

5. "Environmental Impacts." //The Environmental Literacy Council//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

6. Enzler, S. M.. " Environmental effects of war." //Water Treatment and Purification - Lenntech//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

7. Fisher, Colonel Richard W.. "The Environment and Military Strategy." //Air and Space Power Journal//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

8. "International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict - 6 November." //Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

9. Pearce, Fred. "From Vietnam to Rwanda: War's Chain Reaction." //The Unesco Courier// May 2000: 9-11. Print.

10. "The Environmental Consequences of War ." //IDS-Environment - Online Information Resource, Exhibition, Conference, Environment White Papers, Suppliers, Products, and much more//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

11. "UNHCR - Refugee Figures." //UNHCR Welcome//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

12. Wall, Roland. "War & The Environment." //Academy of Natural Sciences//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .

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