 Dr. Manzoor Ahmad Yetoo
The natural envi
ronment has been
a stra-tegic element of war since the first rock was thrown by the first cave dweller. The armies of ancient Rome and Assyria, to ensure the total capitulation of their enemies, reportedly sowed salt into the cropland of their foes, making the soil useless for farming -- an early use of military herbicide, and one of most devastating environmental effects of war.
When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?
War is waged differently today, of course, and has widespread environmental impacts that last far longer. "The technology has changed, and the potential effects of the technology are very different.Modern chemical, biological and nuclear warfare has the potential to wreak unprecedented environmental havoc that, fortunately, we haven't seen - yet.But in some cases, precision weapons and other technological advances can shield the environment by targeting key facilities, leaving other areas relatively unscathed. "You could make the argument that these weapons have the ability to minimize collateral damage,but that is not true to every extent.
warfare today also occurs infrequently between independent nations; more often, armed conflict breaks out between rival factions within a nation. These localized civil wars, according to Bruch, are usually beyond the reach of international treaties and bodies of law. "Internal conflict is viewed as a matter of sovereignty -- an internal matter," he said. As a result, environmental damage, like human rights violations, occurs unchecked by outside organizations.
Though skirmishes, armed conflicts and open warfare vary tremendously by region and by weapons used, the effects of war on the environment usually fall into the following broad categories:
Habitat Destruction: Perhaps the most famous example of habitat devastation occurred during the Vietnam war, Iraq, Afghanistan and recently Gaza., when U.S. forces sprayed herbicides like Agent Orange on the forests and mangrove swamps that provided cover to guerrilla soldiers. An estimated 20 million gallons of herbicide were used, decimating about 4.5 million acres of the countryside. Some regions are not expected to recover for several decades.
Refugees: When warfare causes the mass movement of people, the resulting impacts on the environment can be catastrophic. Widespread deforestation, unchecked hunting, soil erosion and contamination of land and water by human waste occur when thousands of humans are forced to settle in a new area..
Invasive species : Military ships, cargo airplanes and trucks often carry more than soldiers and munitions; non-native plants and animals can also ride along, invading new areas and wiping out native species in the process. Laysan Island in the Pacific Ocean was once home to a number of rare plants and animals, but troop movements during and after World war 2, introduced rats that nearly wiped out the Laysan finch and the Laysan rail, as well as bringing in sandbur, an invasive plant that crowds out the native bunchgrass that local birds depend on for habitat.
Infrastructure Collapse: Among the first and most vulnerable targets of attack in a military campaign are the enemy's roads, bridges, utilities and other infrastructure. While these don't form part of the natural environment, the destruction of wastewater treatment plants, for example, severely degrades regional water quality. During the 1990s fighting inCROTIA, chemical manufacturing plants were bombed; because treatment facilities for chemical spills weren't functioning, toxins flowed downstream unchecked until the conflict ended.Second best example of infrastructure demage can be that of Gaza,where it will take several years to rebuild the destructed infrastructure.
Increased Production: Even in regions not directly affected by warfare, increased production in manufacturing, agriculture and other industries that support a war effort can wreak havoc on the natural environment. During World war 1, former wilderness areas of the United States came under cultivation for wheat, cotton and other crops, while vast stands of timber were clear-cut to meet wartime demand for wood products. Timber in Liberia, oil in Sudan and diamonds in Sierra Leone are all exploited by military factions. "These provide a revenue stream that is used to buy weapons," said Bruch.
Scorched Earth Practices: The destruction of one's own homeland is a time-honored, albeit tragic, wartime custom. The term "scorched earth" originally applied to burning crops and buildings that might feed and shelter the enemy, but it's now applied to any environmentally destructive strategy. To thwart invading Japanese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Chinese authorities dynamited a dike on the Yellow River, drowning thousands of Japanese soldiers -- and thousands of Chinese peasants, while also flooding millions of square miles of land.
Hunting and Poaching: If an army crawls on its stomach, as is often said, then feeding an army often requires hunting local animals, especially larger mammals that often have slower rates of reproduction. In the ongoing war in Sudan, poachers seeking meat for soldiers and civilians have had a tragic effect on bush animal populations in Garamba National Park, just across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At one point, the number of elephants shrunk from 22,000 to 5,000, and there were only 15 white rhinos left alive.
Biological, Chemical and Nuclear Weapons: The production, testing, transport and use of these advanced weapons are perhaps the single most destructive effects of war on the environment.
Though their use has been strictly limited since the bombing of Japan by the U.S. military at the end of World War II, military analysts have grave concerns about the proliferation of nuclear material and chemical and biological weaponry. "We've been very fortunate that we have not seen the devastation that we might see," said Bruch.
Researchers point to the use of depleted uranium as one particularly dangerous military trend.
DU is a byproduct of the uranium-enrichment process.
Almost twice as dense as lead, it's valued in weapons for its ability to penetrate tank armor and other defenses.
An estimated 320 tons of DU were used in the Gulf War in 1991; in addition to soil contamination, experts are concerned that soldiers and civilians may have been exposed to dangerous levels of the compound. While the effects of war on the environment may be obvious, what's less clear are the ways that environmental damage itself leads to conflict. Factions in resource-poor countries like those in Africa, the Mideast and Southeast Asia have historically used military force for material gain; they have few other options. Once armed conflict begins, soldiers and populations under siege must find immediate sources of food, water and shelter, so they're forced to adapt their thinking to short-term solutions, not long-term sustainability.
This short-term desperation leads to a vicious cycle of conflict, followed by people who meet their immediate needs in unsustainable ways, bringing deprivation and disillusionment, which then leads to more conflict. One of the chief challenges is to break that cycle.
As military planning evolves, it becomes apparent that the environment now plays a greater role in successful combat, especially after armed conflict ends. "At the end of the day, if you're trying to occupy an area, you have a strong incentive not to ruin it. And some warriors are learning that there's more to be gained from preserving the environment than in destroying it. In war-torn Mozambique, former military combatants have been hired to work together as park rangers protecting the wildlife and natural habitats that they once sought to destroy.
Same analogy applies to other countries of the globe so there is no option but to preserve our environment and peace is the best ingredient for it.
The author is an expert in environment ,project & waste Management, occupational safety& health & pollution control and empanelled expert for IRCA). |
