Presentation on Internat ational Day for Preventing the Exploitati ation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict Dr. Rambabu, CEO, RSM GC Advisors Pvt. Ltd D (This presentation is mad ade in my personal capacity and no opinion herein can be attributed to RSM GC Advisors) RSM GC Advisory Serv ervices Pvt. Ltd. 5 th floor, Great Soci ocial Building 60, Sir Pherozeshah Me Mehta Road, Fort Mumbai, Maharashtra tra 400001, India
Why it St ar t ed… .!! The International Day for Preventing the Exp xploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict recognizes the great imp importance of ensuring that action on the environment is part of conflict prevention, p , peacekeeping and peace building strategies - because there can be no durable peace if the the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems ms are destroyed “ On 5 t h Novem ber 2 0 0 1 , t he Unit ed d Nat ions Gener al Assem bly declar ed 6 t h Novem ber of each year as t he Int e Int er nat ional Day for Pr event ing t he Exploit at ion of t he Envir onm ent ent in War and Ar m ed Conflict ”
United Nations Resolution Snap shot
Envir onm ent - “ The unpub unpublicized vict im of w ar ” Water wells have crops torched been polluted How… ..? Mankind has always counted its war forests were cut casualties in terms of dead and soils poisoned down/ Deforestation wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often remained the Animals killed to gain military unpublicized victim of war advantage
Once t hick w it h w it h 9 0 per cent nat ive t r opical for est s, follow ing confl nflict Sier r a Leone now has less t han 4 per cent for est est cover " Phot o cr edit : UNEP
The United Nat ations Environment Programme (UNEP has found that o over the last 60 years, at least 40 percen of all internal al conflicts have been linked to th exploitation of natural resources, whether high-valu resources such as timber, diamonds, gold and oil, scarce resource rces such as fertile land and wate Let us renew our commitment to preventing th the exploitation of the environment in times of conflict, and to protecting the environme nment as a pillar of our work for peace. UN Secretary- Gen eneral Ban Ki- moon International Day for Preven enting the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Arme rmed Conflict, November 6 , 2 0 0 8
What The UN Millenni nium Pr oject Says… .!! The Millennium Project define ines environmental security as environmental viability for life suppo pport, with three sub-elements: pr event ing or r epair ing m ilit ilit ar y dam age t o t he envir onm ent pr event ing or r esponding t o t o envir onm ent ally caused conflict s, and pr ot ect ing t he envir onm ent nt due t o it s inher ent m or al value e 12 million hectares of land are lost yearly due to degradation ion and environmental causes. Desertification threatens regions eady high vulnerability: nearly 70% of agricultural lands in the Arab region and 65% of those in Africa––where 60% of ulation depends on agriculture. By 2020, water shortages migh ight affect 250 million people in Africa, and agricultural produc ld decline 50% ; in the meantime, population is expected to incr ncrease from 967 million to 2 billion in 2050. The situation mig acerbated by several food-importing countries, including China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, that have started to b ase farmland in poor countries in Africa, Latin America, Central al Asia, and Southeast Asia in order to address their food and urity
Global Peace Index 2009 Comparing world peace (see Figure) with potential s risks triggered by climate effects and environmental degra (e.g., global sea level rise, temp change, water scarcity, desertification) could help present vulnerabilities efficiently e: Economist Intelligence Unit (for the Institute for Eco Economics and Peace)
UN Secur it y Council Deb cil Debat e… ..At Glance In 2007, the UN Security Council held its first debate on the security implications of climate change, and many Council members considered the issue a top priority for their governments. “The world has moved from a glo global threat once called the Cold War, to what now should be be considered the Warming War,” says Afelee Pita, Tuvalu Amba bassador to the UN
Least Envir onm ent ally Sust ainabl ble Count r ies Middle Eastern countries are am among the least environmentally sustainable, and conflict has caused sed massive damages to ecosystems from Iraq to Lebanon and North Afr Africa. Many post-conflict health and envir vironmental impact assessments are ongoing, as are liability disputes. A A motion submitted to the Security Council is requesting Israel to pa pay Lebanon nearly $1 billion for environmental damages caused du during the 2006 Second Lebanon War (including, inter alia, the cost of UN cleanup of the oil spill after Israel bombed a large refinery). In May 2009, UNEP conducted ed a post-conflict environmental assessment in the Gaza Strip on th the impact of the Israel invasion of December 2008–J anuary 2009 in in order to make rehabilitation recommendations
UNEP and Environmental L l Law Institute (ELI) Findings… … .. Ar t icles 3 5 and 5 5 of Addit i ddit ional Pr ot ocol I t o t he 1 9 4 9 Geneva Convent io t ions do not effect ively pr ot ect t he envir onm ent ent dur ing ar m ed conflict due t o t he st r ingent a and im pr ecise t hr eshold r equir ed t o dem onst r at e da dam age:
UNEP and Environmental Law w Institute (ELI) Findings… … .. rovisions in humanitarian law that regulate te the means and methods of warfare or rotect civilian property and objects provide in indirect protection of the environment: est r ict ions on t he m eans of w ar far e (in par t icular p w eapons) and t he m et hods of w ar far e (such as m ilit ar y t act ics) pr ovide indir ect pr ot ect ion t o t he envir onm ent , t hough new t echnologies, such as t he use of d deplet ed ur anium , ar e not yet addr essed – cept by t he gener al pr inciples of t he law aw of w ar . Pr ovisions t hat pr ot ect civilian oper t y and object s, including indust r ial ins nst allat ions and cult ur al/ nat ur al sit es, also ovide indir ect pr ot ect ion t o t he envir onm en ent . How ever , t hese pr ot ect ions have r ar ely een effect ively im plem ent ed or enfor ced.
UNEP and Environmental Law Ins Institute (ELI) Findings… … .. The majority of international legal provis visions protecting the environment during armed conflict were designed for inte international armed conflicts and do not necessarily apply to internal conflicts: Given t hat m ost ar m ed conflict s t oday ar ar e non- int er nat ional or civil w ar s, m uch of t he exist ing legal fr am ew or k does oes not necessar ily apply. This legal vacuum is a m ajor obst acle for pr event ing ing t he oft en ser ious envir onm ent al dam age inflict ed dur ing int er nal conflict s. Ther e ar e also no inst it ut ionalized m echanism s t o pr event t he loot ing of nat ur ur al r esour ces dur ing ar m ed conflict or t o r est r ict t he gr ant ing of concession ons by com bat ant s t hat m ay lack legit im acy or legal aut hor it y. In addi dit ion, t her e ar e no syst em at ic m echanism s t o pr event St at es or cor por at i at ions fr om aiding and abet t ing civil w ar par t ies in causing envir onm ent al dam age age or loot ing nat ur al r esour ces
P and Environmental Law Institute (ELI) LI) Findings… … .. concer n r egar ding t he t ar get ing and and use of t he onm ent dur ing w ar t im e fir st peaked dur ing ng t he Viet Nam The use of t he t oxic her bicide Agent Or an r ange, and t he t ing m assive defor est at ion and chem ical con cont am inat ion it ed, spar ked an int er nat ional out cr y leading t o t he cr eat ion o new int er nat ional legal inst r um ent s. The Envir onm ent al Agent Orange was sprayed over l ficat ion Convent ion (ENMOD) w as adopt ed ed in 1 9 7 6 t o areas during the Viet Nam War hibit t he use of envir onm ent al m odificat ion t t echniques as a of w ar far e. Addit ional Pr ot ocol I t o t o t he Geneva vent ions, adopt ed in t he follow ing year , includ uded t w o ar t icles and 5 5 ) pr ohibit ing w ar far e t hat m ay cause cause “ w idespr ead, t er m and sever e dam age t o t he nat ur al envir vir onm ent .”
: UNEP
Source: UNEP
Source: UNEP
Snap shot s
Snap shot s
Source: UN Millenn
Thank You Thank "On t his Int er nat ional Day, w e st r ess t he cr he cr it ical im por t ance of pr ot ect ing t he envir onm ent in t im es of ar m ed conflict an and r est or ing t he good gover nance of nat ur al r esour ces dur ing post - conflict r eco r econst r uct ion. We also r ecognize t he im por t ant r ole t hat nat ur al r esour ces play play in suppor t ing t he livelihoods and r esilience of all m em ber s of societ y, especi ecially w om en, and t he im plicat ions of sust ainable nat ur al r esour ce m anagem ent ent for conflict pr event ion and peace." UN Secr et ar y- Gener al er al Ban Ki- m oon
Recommend
More recommend
