Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Environmental problems caused by warfare}} {{Lead too short|date=August 2021}} {{Pollution sidebar|War|image=[[File:BrennendeOelquellenKuwait1991.jpg|350px|frameless]]|caption=[[Kuwaiti oil fires]] set by retreating Iraqi forces during the [[Gulf War]] caused a dramatic decrease in air quality.}} [[File:Defoliation agent spraying.jpg|thumb|right|[[Agent Orange]], a [[herbicide]], being sprayed on farmland during the [[Vietnam War]]]] <span lang="hif-latn" dir="ltr">Study</span> of the '''environmental impact of war''' focuses on the modernization of [[warfare]] and its increasing effects on the [[Natural environment|environment]]. [[Scorched earth]] methods have been used for much of recorded history. However, the methods of modern warfare cause far greater devastation on the [[environment (biophysical)|environment]]. The progression of warfare from [[chemical weapons]] to [[nuclear weapons]] has increasingly created stress on [[ecosystems]] and the [[Natural environment|environment]]. Specific examples of the environmental impact of war include [[World War I]], [[World War II]], the [[Vietnam War]], the [[Rwandan Civil War]], the [[Kosovo War]] and the [[Gulf War]]. ==Historical events== === Vietnam === {{Main|Environmental impact of the Vietnam War}} [[File:'Ranch Hand' run.jpg|thumb|Defoliant spray run, part of Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War by UC-123B Provider aircraft]] The [[Vietnam War]] had significant environmental implications due to chemical agents which were used to destroy militarily-significant vegetation. Enemies found an advantage in remaining invisible by blending into a civilian population or taking cover in dense vegetation and opposing armies which targeted natural ecosystems.<ref name=dw>{{cite journal|last=DeWeerdt|first=Sarah|title=War and the Environment|journal=World Wide Watch|date=January 2008|volume=21|issue=1}}</ref> The US military used “more than 20 million gallons of [[herbicides]] [...] to defoliate forests, clear growth along the borders of military sites and eliminate enemy crops."<ref name=king>{{cite news|last=King|first=Jessie|title=Vietnamese wildlife still paying a high price for chemical warfare|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/vietnamese-wildlife-still-paying-a-high-price-for-chemical-warfare-5329662.html|access-date=4 March 2015|newspaper=The Independent|date=8 July 2006}}</ref> While the chemical agents gave the US an advantage in wartime efforts, the vegetation was unable to regenerate and it left behind bare [[mudflats]] which still existed years after spraying.<ref name=dw /> Not only was the vegetation affected, but also the wildlife: "a mid-1980s study by Vietnamese ecologists documented just 24 species of birds and 5 species of mammals present in sprayed forests and converted areas, compared to 145–170 bird species and 30–55 kinds of mammals in [[intact forest landscape|intact forest]]."<ref name=dw /> The uncertain long-term effects of these herbicides are now being discovered by looking at modified species distribution patterns through habitat degradation and loss in wetland systems, which absorbed the runoff from the mainland.<ref name=king /> The destruction of forests in Vietnam War is one of the most commonly used examples of [[ecocide]], including by Swedish Prime Minister [[Olof Palme]], lawyers, historians and other academics.<ref name=":24">{{Cite book |last=Zierler |first=David |title=The invention of ecocide: agent orange, Vietnam, and the scientists who changed the way we think about the environment |date=2011 |publisher=Univ. of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-3827-9 |location=Athens, Ga.}}</ref><ref name=":43">{{Cite journal |last=Falk |first=Richard A. |date=1973 |title=Environmental Warfare and Ecocide — Facts, Appraisal, and Proposals |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44480206 |journal=Bulletin of Peace Proposals |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=80–96 |doi=10.1177/096701067300400105 |issn=0007-5035 |jstor=44480206 |s2cid=144885326|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":62">{{Cite journal |last=Giovanni |first=Chiarini |date=2022-04-01 |title=Ecocide: From the Vietnam War to International Criminal Jurisdiction? Procedural Issues In-Between Environmental Science, Climate Change, and Law |journal=Cork Online Law Review |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4072727 |language=en |ssrn=4072727}}</ref> === Africa === Throughout Africa, war has been a major factor in the decline of wildlife populations inside national parks and other protected areas.<ref name="DaskinPringle">{{cite journal|last1=Daskin|first1=Joshua H.|last2=Pringle |first2=Robert M. |title=Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa's protected areas |journal=Nature |volume=553 |issue=7688|pages=328–332 |year=2018 |pmid=29320475 |doi=10.1038/nature25194|bibcode=2018Natur.553..328D|s2cid=4464877}}</ref> However, a growing number of [[ecological restoration]] initiatives, including in Rwanda's [[Akagera National Park]] and Mozambique's [[Gorongosa National Park]], have shown that wildlife populations and whole ecosystems can be successfully rehabilitated even after devastating conflicts.<ref name="Pringle">{{cite journal|last1=Pringle|first1=Robert M. |title=Upgrading protected areas to conserve wild biodiversity |journal=Nature |volume=546 |issue=7656 |pages=91–99 |year=2017 |pmid=28569807 |doi=10.1038/nature22902|bibcode=2017Natur.546...91P |s2cid=4387383 }}</ref> Experts have emphasized that solving social, economic, and political problems is essential for the success of such efforts.<ref name="sk">{{cite journal|last=Kanyamibwa|first=Samuel|year=1998|title=Impact of war on conservation: Rwandan environment and wildlife in agony|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=7|issue=11|pages=1399–1406|doi=10.1023/a:1008880113990|s2cid=31015910}}</ref><ref name="DaskinPringle" /><ref name="Pringle" /> ==== Rwanda ==== The [[Rwandan genocide]] led to the killing of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The war created a massive migration of nearly 2 million Hutus fleeing [[Rwanda]] over the course of just a few weeks to [[refugee camps]] in [[Tanzania]] and now modern day [[the Democratic Republic of the Congo]].<ref name="dw" /> This large displacement of people in refugee camps puts pressure on the surrounding [[ecosystem]]. Forests were cleared in order to provide wood for building shelters and creating cooking fires:<ref name="dw" /> “these people suffered from harsh conditions and constituted an important threat impact to natural resources.”<ref name="sk" /> Consequences from the conflict also included the degradation of National Parks and Reserves. Another big problem was that the population crash in Rwanda shifted personnel and capital to other parts of the country, thereby making it hard to protect wildlife.<ref name="sk" /> ===World War II=== [[World War II]] (WW2) drove a vast increase in production, militarized the production and transportation of commodities, and introduced many new environmental consequences, which can still be seen today. World War II was wide-ranging in its destruction of humans, animals, and materials. The postwar effects of World War II, both ecological and social, are still visible decades after the conflict ended. During World War II, new technology was used to create aircraft, which were used to conduct air raids. During the war, aircraft were used to transport resources both to and from different military bases and drop bombs on enemy, neutral, and friendly targets alike. These activities damaged habitats.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Evenden|first=Matthew|date=2011|title=Aluminum, commodity chain, and the environmental history of the second world war|journal=Environmental History|volume=16|pages=69–93|doi=10.1093/envhis/emq145}}</ref> Similar to wildlife, ecosystems also suffer from [[noise pollution]] which is produced by military aircraft. During World War II, aircraft acted as a vector for the transportation of exotics whereby weeds and cultivated species were brought to oceanic island ecosystems by way of aircraft landing strips which were used as refueling and staging stations during operations in the [[Pacific War|Pacific theater]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stoddart|date=1968|title=Catastrophic human interference with coral atoll ecosystems|journal=Geography|pages=25–40}}</ref> Before the war, the isolated islands around Europe were inhabited by a high number of endemic species. During World War II, aerial warfare had an enormous influence on fluctuating population dynamics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Lawrence|first=Michael|date=2015|title=The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment|journal=Environmental Reviews|volume=23|issue=4|pages=443–460|doi=10.1139/er-2015-0039|hdl=1807/69913|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In August 1945, after fighting World War II for almost four years, the [[United States|United States of America]] dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima in Japan. About 70,000 people died in the first nine seconds after the bombing of Hiroshima, which was comparable to the death toll which resulted from the devastating [[Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)|Operation Meetinghouse]] air raid over Tokyo. Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on the industrial city of Nagasaki, instantly killing 35,000 people.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://sjenvironmentaljustice.org/atomic-bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-sj-environmental-justice/|title=Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – SJ Environmental Justice – sj environmental justice|first=Environmental|last=Justice|access-date=2021-11-05|archive-date=2021-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105014525/https://sjenvironmentaljustice.org/atomic-bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-sj-environmental-justice/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[nuclear weapon]]s released catastrophic levels of energy and radioactive particles. Once the bombs were detonated, the temperatures reached about 3980&nbsp;°C / 7200&nbsp;°F.<ref name=":1" /> With temperatures that high, all the flora and fauna were destroyed along with the infrastructure and human lives in the impact zones.<ref name=":0" /> The radioactive particles which were released resulted widespread land and water contamination.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://sciencing.com/environmental-effects-atomic-bomb-8203814.html|title=Environmental Effects of the Atomic Bomb|last=Lemon}}</ref> The initial blasts increased the surface temperature and created crushing winds destroying trees and buildings in their path.<ref name=":2" /> European forests experienced traumatic impacts which resulted from fighting during the war. Behind the combat zones, timber from cut down trees was removed in order to clear up the paths for fighting. The shattered forests in the battle zones faced exploitation.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Tucker|first=Richard|date=2012|chapter=War and the Environment|title=A Companion to Global Environmental History|pages=319–339|doi=10.1002/9781118279519.ch18|isbn=9781118279519}}</ref> The use of heavily hazardous chemicals was first initiated during World War II.<ref name=":3" /> The long-term effects of chemicals result from both their potential persistence and the poor disposal program of nations with stockpiled weapons.<ref name=":0" /> During [[World War I]] (WW I), German chemists developed chlorine gas and mustard gas. The development of these gases led to many casualties, and lands were poisoned both on and near the battlefields.<ref name=":3" /> Later in World War II, chemists developed even more harmful chemical bombs, which were packaged in barrels and directly deposited in the oceans.<ref name=":0" /> The disposal of the chemicals in ocean runs the risk of metal-based containers corroding and leaching the chemical contents of the vessel into the ocean.<ref name=":0" /> Through the chemical disposal in the ocean, the contaminants may be spread throughout the various components of the ecosystems damaging marine and terrestrial ecosystems.<ref name=":3" /> Marine ecosystems during World War II were damaged not only from chemical contaminates, but also from wreckage from naval ships, which leaked oil into the water. Oil contamination in the Atlantic Ocean due to World War II shipwrecks is estimated at over 15 million tonnes.<ref name=":0" /> Oil spills are difficult to clean up and take many years to clean. To this day, traces of oil can still be found in the Atlantic Ocean from the naval shipwrecks which happened during World War II. The use of chemicals during war helped increase the scale of chemical industries and it also helped to show the government the value of scientific research. The development of chemical research during the war also lead to the postwar development of agricultural pesticides.<ref name=":3" /> The creation of pesticides was an upside for the years after the war. The environmental impacts of World War II were very drastic, which allowed them to be seen in the Cold War and be seen today. The impacts of conflict, chemical contaminations, and aerial warfare all contribute to reduction in the population of global flora and fauna, as well as a reduction in species diversity.<ref name=":0" /> In 1946, in the U.S. Zone of Germany, the United States military advised the government to prepare accommodations and employment for the people who were bombed out of their cities. The answer was a special garden program that would provide new land for the people to live in. This included land to provide food needed for the people as well. Forests were then surveyed for good soil that was suitable for crop production.This meant that the forest would be cut down in order to make land for farms and housing.The forestry program would be used to exploit the forests of Germany for future resources and control the war potential of Germany. In this program about 23,500,000 fest meters of lumber were produced out of the forests.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/History/History-idx?type=turn&entity=History.YearPotsdam.p0073&id=History.YearPotsdam&isize=M|title=History: A year of Potsdam, the German economy since the surrender: How 17,000,000 Germans are fed|website=digicoll.library.wisc.edu|access-date=2020-01-24}}</ref> Aluminum was one of the biggest resources affected by World War II. Bauxite, an aluminum ore and the mineral cryolite were essential, as well as requiring massive amounts of electrical power.<ref>Wills, M. (August 18, 2020) [https://daily.jstor.org/the-environmental-costs-of-war/ "The Environmental Costs of War,"] ''JSTOR Daily,''</ref> ===Gulf War and Iraq War=== {{Main|Environmental impact of the Gulf wars}} During the 1991 [[Gulf War]], the [[Kuwaiti oil fires]] were a result of the scorched earth policy of Iraqi forces retreating from [[Kuwait]]. The [[Gulf War oil spill]], regarded as the worst oil spill in history, was caused when Iraqi forces opened valves at the Sea Island oil terminal and dumped oil from several tankers into the [[Persian Gulf]]. Oil was also dumped in the middle of the desert. Just before the 2003 Iraq War, Iraq also set fire to various oil fields.<ref>http://www.iadc.org/dcpi/dc-novdec03/Nov3-Boots.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/21/sprj.irq.oil.wells/index.html|title=CNN.com - UK: Iraq torches seven oil wells - Mar. 21, 2003|website=edition.cnn.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://kockw.com/sites/EN/Pages/Profile/History/OilFires.aspx |title=Kuwait Oil Company |website=kockw.com |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519003256/http://kockw.com/sites/EN/Pages/Profile/History/OilFires.aspx |archive-date=19 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some American military personnel complained of [[Gulf War syndrome]], typified by symptoms including immune system disorders and birth defects in their children. Whether it is due to time spent in active service during the war or for other reasons remains controversial. The water supply during the Iraq War had been heavily contaminated due to actions of the conflict; The oil from military vehicles would leak out, the ammunition fired from all weapons would also have uranium ooze out into the waters, and the overall wellbeing of nature and forest live in the Middle East had been destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Environmental Costs {{!}} Costs of War |url=https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/social/environment |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=The Costs of War |language=en}}</ref> === Other examples === *[[1938 Yellow River flood]], created by the [[Nationalist government]] in [[Central China]] during the early stages of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in an attempt to halt the rapid advance of the Japanese forces. It has been called the "largest act of environmental warfare in history". *[[Beaufort's Dyke]], used as a dumping ground for bombs *[[Jiyeh Power Station oil spill]], bombed by the [[Israeli Air Force]] during the [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]]. *[[Formerly Used Defense Sites]], a U.S. military program which is responsible for environmental restoration *[[K5 Plan]], an attempt by the government of the [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]] to seal off [[Khmer Rouge]] guerrilla infiltration routes into [[Cambodia]] between 1985 and 1989, resulting in environmental degradation. *[[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen]], an intervention in a [[Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)|civil war]] in the [[Middle East]], disrupted the water-energy-food security nexus in an already resource-poor country. The war and the conflict led to the contamination of water and agricultural lands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/winning-the-humanitarian-war-in-yemen/|title=Winning the humanitarian war in Yemen|website=Atlantic Council|date=16 October 2019|access-date=16 October 2019}}</ref> == Environmental hazards == {{See also|Environmental warfare|Environmental issue}} [[Resources]] are a key source of [[Conflict (process)|conflict]] between [[nation]]s: "after the end of the [[Cold War]] in particular, many have suggested that [[environmental degradation]] will exacerbate scarcities and become an additional source of armed conflict."<ref name=gled>{{cite book|last=Gledistch|first=Nils|title=Conflict and the Environment|year=1997|publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers}}</ref> A nation's survival depends on resources from the environment.<ref name=gled /> Resources that are a source of armed conflict include territory, strategic raw materials, sources of energy, water, and food.<ref name=gled /> In order to maintain resource stability, chemical and nuclear warfare have been used by nations in order to protect or extract resources, and during conflict.<ref name=gled /><ref name=rob /> These agents of war have been used frequently: “about 125,000 tons of [[chemical agent]] were employed during World War I, and about 96,000 tons during the Viet-Nam conflict.”<ref name=rob /> [[Nerve gas]], also known as organophosphorous anticholinesterases, was used at lethal levels against human beings and destroyed a high number of nonhuman [[vertebrate]] and [[invertebrate]] populations.<ref name=rob>{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=J.P|title=The Effects of Weapons on Ecosystems|year=1979|publisher=Pergamon Press}}</ref> However, contaminated vegetation would mostly be spared, and would only pose a threat to herbivores.<ref name=rob /> The result of innovations in chemical warfare led to a broad range of different chemicals for war and domestic use, but also resulted in unforeseen environmental damage. The progression of warfare and its effects on the environment continued with the invention of [[weapons of mass destruction]]. While today, [[weapons of mass destruction]] act as deterrents and the use of weapons of mass destruction during [[World War II]] created significant environmental destruction. On top of the great loss in human life, “natural resources are usually the first to suffer: forests and wild life animals are wiped out.”<ref name=gled /> [[Nuclear warfare]] imposes both direct and indirect effects on the environment. The physical destruction due to the blast or by the biospheric damage due to [[ionizing]] [[radiation]] or [[radiotoxicity]] directly affect [[ecosystems]] within the blast radius.<ref name=rob /> Also, the atmospheric or geospheric disturbances caused by the weapons can lead to weather and [[climate change]]s.<ref name=rob /> ===Unexploded ordnance=== {{Main|Unexploded ordnance}} Military campaigns require large quantities of [[explosive weapon]]s, a fraction of which will not [[detonate]] properly and leave unexploded weapons. This creates a serious physical and chemical hazard for the civilian populations living in areas which were once war zones, due to the possibility of detonation after the conflict, as well as the leaching of chemicals into the soil and groundwater.<ref>Joel Hayward, ''[[Airpower and the environment]]: The Ecological Implications of Modern Air Warfare''. Air University Press, 2013.</ref> ===Agent Orange=== {{Main|Agent Orange}} [[Agent Orange]] was one of the [[herbicide]]s and [[defoliant]]s used by the [[British Armed Forces|British military]] during the [[Malayan Emergency]] and the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] in its [[herbicidal warfare]] program, [[Operation Ranch Hand]], during the [[Vietnam War]]. An estimated 21,136,000 gal. (80 000 m³) of Agent Orange were sprayed across South Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.va.gov/Agentorange/ |title=Agent Orange |publisher=United States Department of Veterans |date=January 9, 2008 |access-date=2008-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703211712/http://www1.va.gov/agentorange/ |archive-date=July 3, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to the Vietnamese government, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, and this exposure resulted in 400,000 deaths and disabilities as well as 500,000 children born with birth defects.<ref>The Globe and Mail, June 12, 2008. [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080711.worange1107/BNStory/Front/home/?pageRequested=all 'Last Ghost of the Vietnam War'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331090117/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080711.worange1107/BNStory/Front/home/?pageRequested=all |date=2009-03-31 }}</ref> The [[Red Cross of Vietnam|Vietnamese Red Cross]] estimates that up to one million people were disabled or have health problems as a result of Agent Orange.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/10/world/asia/vietnam-us-agent-orange/ |title=U.S. in first effort to clean up Agent Orange in Vietnam |first=Jessica |last=King |date=2012-08-10 |access-date=2012-08-11 |work=[[CNN]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303060725/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/10/world/asia/vietnam-us-agent-orange |archive-date=2013-03-03 |url-status=live }}</ref> The United States government has called these figures unreliable.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Defoliation |editor-last=Tucker|editor-first=Spencer C.|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War : a Political, Social, and Military History|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-961-0|edition=2nd}}</ref> Many Commonwealth personnel who handled and/or used Agent Orange during and decades after the 1948–1960 Malayan conflict suffered from serious exposure of dioxin. Agent Orange also caused [[soil erosion]] to areas in Malaya. An estimated 10,000 civilians and insurgents in Malaya also suffered from the effects of defoliants, though many historians agreed it was likely more than 10,000 given that Agent Orange was used on a large scale in the Malayan Emergency and unlike the U.S., the British government manipulated the numbers and kept its deployment a secret in fear of a negative backlash from foreign nations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Pesticide Dilemma in the Third World: A Case Study of Malaysia |pages=23 |publisher=Phoenix Press |year=1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Dioxins and Health |pages=145–160 |author=Arnold Schecter, Thomas A. Gasiewicz |date=July 4, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Chemical and Biological Warfare: A Reference Handbook |pages=178–180 |author=Albert J. Mauroni |date=July 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Global Politics of Pesticides: Forging Consensus from Conflicting Interests |page=61 |author=Bruce Cumings |year=1998 |publisher=[[Earthscan]]}}</ref> ===Testing of nuclear armaments=== {{Main|Nuclear weapons testing}} Testing of [[nuclear armament]]s has been carried out at various places including [[Bikini Atoll]], the [[Marshall Islands]] [[Pacific Proving Grounds]], [[New Mexico]] in the US, [[Mururoa Atoll]], [[Maralinga, South Australia|Maralinga]] in Australia, and [[Novaya Zemlya]] in the former Soviet Union, among others. [[Downwinders]] are individuals and communities who are exposed to [[radioactive contamination]] and/or [[nuclear fallout]] from atmospheric and/or underground [[nuclear weapons testing]], and [[nuclear accidents]]. ===Strontium-90=== The United States government studied the post-war effects of [[Strontium-90]], a radioactive isotope which is found in nuclear fallout . The Atomic Energy Commission discovered that “Sr-90, which is chemically similar to [[calcium]], can accumulate in bones and possibly lead to [[cancer]]”.<ref name=Lutts>{{cite journal|last=Lutts|first=Ralph|title=Chemical Fallout: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Radioactive Fallout, and the Environmental Movement|journal=Environmental Review|year=1985|volume=9|issue=3|series=3|pages=210–225|doi=10.2307/3984231|jstor=3984231|pmid=11616075|s2cid=21014042}}</ref> Sr-90 found its way into humans through the ecological food chain as fallout in the soil, was picked up by plants, further concentrated in herbivorous animals, and eventually consumed by humans.<ref name=Kulp>{{cite journal|last=Kulp|first=J. Laurence|title=Strontium-90 in Man|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|year=1957|series=AEC Fifth Semiannual Report: Part II|page=219}}</ref> ===Depleted uranium munitions=== {{Main|Depleted uranium}} The use of depleted uranium in [[munitions]] is controversial because of numerous questions about potential long-term health effects.<ref name=MillerMcClain /> Normal functioning of the [[kidney]], [[brain]], [[liver]], [[heart]], and numerous other systems can be affected by uranium exposure, because in addition to being weakly radioactive, uranium is a [[toxic metal]].<ref name=Craft04>{{cite journal |last1=Craft |first1=Elena |last2=Abu-Qare |first2=Aquel |last3=Flaherty |first3=Meghan |last4=Garofolo |first4=Melissa |last5=Rincavage |first5=Heather |last6=Abou-Donia |first6=Mohamed |title=Depleted and natural uranium: chemistry and toxicological effects |journal=Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=297–317 |year=2004 |pmid=15205046 |doi=10.1080/10937400490452714|bibcode=2004JTEHB...7..297C |citeseerx=10.1.1.535.5247 |s2cid=9357795 }}</ref> It remains weakly radioactive because of its long [[half-life]]. The aerosol produced during impact and combustion of depleted uranium munitions can potentially contaminate wide areas around the impact sites or can be inhaled by civilians and military personnel.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mitsakou |first1=C. |last2=Eleftheriadis |first2=K. |last3=Housiadas |first3=C. |last4=Lazaridis |first4=M. |title=Modeling of the dispersion of depleted uranium aerosol |journal=Health Physics |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=538–44 |year=2003 |pmid=12705453 |doi=10.1097/00004032-200304000-00014|s2cid=3244650 }}</ref> In a three-week period of conflict in Iraq during 2003, it was estimated over 1000 tons of depleted uranium munitions were used mostly in cities.<ref name="gaurdian2003">Paul Brown, [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/apr/25/internationaleducationnews.armstrade Gulf troops face tests for cancer] ''guardian.co.uk'' 25 April 2003, Retrieved February 3, 2009</ref> The [[U.S. Department of Defense]] claims that no human [[cancer]] of any type has been seen as a result of exposure to either natural or depleted uranium.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://fhp.osd.mil/du/healthEffects.jsp |title = Toxicological profile for uranium |author = U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071123082540/http://fhp.osd.mil/du/healthEffects.jsp |archive-date = 2007-11-23 }}</ref> Yet, U.S. DoD studies using cultured cells and laboratory rodents continue to suggest the possibility of [[leukemia|leukemogenic]], [[gene]]tic, [[reproduction|reproductive]], and [[neurological]] effects from chronic exposure.<ref name=MillerMcClain>{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=AC |last2=McClain |first2=D |title=A review of depleted uranium biological effects: in vitro and in vivo studies. |journal=Reviews on Environmental Health |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=75–89 |year=2007 |pmid=17508699 |doi=10.1515/REVEH.2007.22.1.75|s2cid=25156511 }}</ref> In addition, the UK Pensions Appeal Tribunal Service in early 2004 attributed [[birth defect]] claims from a February 1991 [[Gulf War]] combat veteran to depleted uranium [[poison]]ing.<ref>Williams, M. (February 9, 2004) [http://vitw.org/archives/405 "First Award for Depleted Uranium Poisoning Claim,"] ''The Herald Online,'' (Edinburgh: Herald Newspapers, Ltd.)</ref> Campaign Against Depleted Uranium (Spring, 2004)<ref>[http://www.cadu.org.uk/news/17.htm#icbuw "MoD Forced to Pay Pension for DU Contamination,"] ''CADU News 17''</ref> Also, a 2005 [[epidemiology]] review concluded: "In aggregate the human epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in offspring of persons exposed to DU."<ref name="Hindin">{{cite journal |last1=Hindin |first1=Rita |last2=Brugge |first2=Doug |last3=Panikkar |first3=Bindu|title=Teratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological perspective |journal=Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source |volume=4 |pages=17 |year=2005 |issue=1 |doi=10.1186/1476-069X-4-17 |pmid=16124873 |pmc=1242351 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2005EnvHe...4...17H }}</ref> According to a 2011 study by Alaani et al., depleted uranium exposure was either a primary cause or related to the cause of the birth defect and cancer increases.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Samira |last1=Alaani |first2=Muhammed |last2=Tafash |first3=Christopher |last3=Busby |first4=Malak |last4=Hamdan |first5=Eleonore |last5=Blaurock-Busch| title=Uranium and other contaminants in the hair from the parents of children with congenital anomalies in Fallujah, Iraq| journal=Conflict and Health |year=2011 | volume=5| page=15| doi=10.1186/1752-1505-5-15| pmid=21888647| pmc=3177876 |doi-access=free }}</ref> According to a 2012 journal article by Al-Hadithi et al., existing studies and research evidence does not show a "clear increase in birth defects" or a "clear indication of a possible environmental exposure including depleted uranium". The article further states that "there is actually no substantial evidence that genetic defects can arise from parental exposure to DU in any circumstances."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Al-Hadithi |first1=Tariq S.|last2=Saleh |first2=Abubakir M. |last3=Al-Diwan |first3=Jawad K. |last4=Shabila |first4=Nazar P. |date=2012 |title=Birth defects in Iraq and the plausibility of environmental exposure: A review |journal=Conflict and Health |language=en |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=245–250 |doi=10.1186/1752-1505-6-3 |pmid=22839108 |pmc=3492088 |doi-access=free }}</ref> ===Fossil fuel use=== With the high degree of mechanization of the military large amounts of [[fossil fuel]]s are used. [[Fossil fuels]] are a major contributor to [[global warming]] and [[climate change]], issues of increasing concern. Access to oil resources is also a factor for instigating a war. The [[United States Department of Defense]] (DoD) is a government body with the highest use of fossil fuel in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energybulletin.net/node/13199|title=The US military oil consumption|last=Karbuz|first=Sohbet|date=2006-02-25|publisher=Energy Bulletin|access-date=2009-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510050724/http://energybulletin.net/node/13199|archive-date=2009-05-10|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the 2005 ''CIA World Factbook'', when compared with the consumption per country the DoD would rank 34th in the world in average daily oil use, coming in just behind Iraq and just ahead of Sweden.<ref>Colonel Gregory J. Lengyel, USAF, The Brookings Institution, Department of Defense Energy Strategy, August 2007, {{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2007/08defense_lengyel/lengyel20070815.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-09-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726045834/http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2007/08defense_lengyel/lengyel20070815.pdf |archive-date=2010-07-26 }}</ref> === Waste incineration === At U.S. bases during the 21st-century wars in [[Iraq War|Iraq]] and [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]], human waste was [[burn pit|burned in open pits]] along with munitions, plastic, electronics, paint, and other chemicals. The carcinogenic smoke is suspected to have injured some soldiers exposed to it.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Valentine|first1=Catherine|last2=Keilar|first2=Brianna|date=21 June 2021|title=Surviving combat only to die at home: Retired Staff Sgt. Wesley Black is picking out his coffin at 35 years old|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/21/politics/homefront-iraq-afghanistan-burn-pits/index.html|access-date=21 June 2021|website=CNN}}</ref> ===Intentional flooding=== Flooding can be used as [[scorched earth]] policy through using water to render land unusable. It can also be used to prevent the movement of enemy combatants. During the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], dykes on the Yellow and the Yangtze Rivers [[1938 Yellow River flood|were breached to halt the advance of Japanese forces]]. During the [[Siege of Leiden]] in 1573, the dykes were breached to halt the advance of Spanish forces. During [[Operation Chastise]] during the Second World War, the [[Eder (Fulda)|Eder]] and [[Sorpe (Röhr)|Sorpe]] river dams in Germany were bombed by the Royal Air Force, flooding a large area and halting industrial manufacture used by the Germans in the war effort. == Militarism and the environment == Human security has traditionally been solely linked to military activities and defense.<ref name=":4">International Peace Bureau. (2002). The Military’s Impact on The Environment: A Neglected Aspect Of The Sustainable Development Debate A Briefing Paper For States And Non-Governmental Organisations, Retrieved from: http://www.ipb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/briefing-paper.pdf</ref> Scholars and institutions like the International Peace Bureau are now increasingly calling for a more holistic approach to security, particularly including an emphasis on the interconnections and interdependencies that exist between humans and the environment.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Jorgenson|first1=Andrew K.|last2=Clark|first2=Brett|date=2016-05-01|title=The temporal stability and developmental differences in the environmental impacts of militarism: the treadmill of destruction and consumption-based carbon emissions|journal=Sustainability Science|language=en|volume=11|issue=3|pages=505–514|doi=10.1007/s11625-015-0309-5|bibcode=2016SuSc...11..505J |s2cid=154827483|issn=1862-4065}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> Military activity has significant impacts on the environment.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2014/07/25/us-department-defence-one-worlds-biggest-polluters-259456.html|title=The US Department of Defense Is One of the World's Biggest Polluters|date=2014-07-17|work=Newsweek|access-date=2018-05-26|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Bradford|first1=John Hamilton|last2=Stoner|first2=Alexander M.|date=2017-08-11|title=The Treadmill of Destruction in Comparative Perspective: A Panel Study of Military Spending and Carbon Emissions, 1960–2014|journal=Journal of World-Systems Research|language=en|volume=23|issue=2|pages=298–325|doi=10.5195/jwsr.2017.688|issn=1076-156X|doi-access=free}}</ref> Not only can war be destructive to the socioenvironment, but military activities produce extensive amounts of [[greenhouse gas]]es (that contribute to [[anthropogenic climate change]]), [[pollution]], and cause resource depletion, among other environmental impacts.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Mahreen |title=The Environmental Impacts of War and Conflict |journal=Institute of Development Studies |date=2022 |doi=10.19088/K4D.2022.060 |url=https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/17466}}</ref> ===Animals=== [[Cetacea]] have been a major casualty of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], with more than 50,000 thought to have been killed. The heavy presence of sonar emanating from naval ships on the Black Sea impacts mammals' ability to use echolocation and subsequently impacts their hunting capabilities.<ref>https://gizmodo.com/ukraine-black-sea-dolphin-deaths-russia-war-1850279402#</ref> === Greenhouse gas emissions and pollution === Several studies have found a strong positive correlation between military spending and increased [[greenhouse gas emissions]], with the impact of military spending on carbon emissions being more pronounced for countries of the Global North (i.e.: OECD developed countries).<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> Accordingly, the US military is estimated to be the number one fossil fuel consumer in the world.<ref name=":7">Schwartz, M. et al. (2012) Department of Defense Energy Initiatives: Background and Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service, [Online] Available at: http://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42558.pdf</ref> Additionally, military activities involve high emissions of pollution.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2014/07/25/us-department-defence-one-worlds-biggest-polluters-259456.html|title=The US Department of Defense Is One of the World's Biggest Polluters|last=Nazaryan|date=2014-07-17|work=Newsweek|access-date=2018-05-26|language=en}}</ref> The Pentagon's director of environment, safety and occupational health, Maureen Sullivan, has stated that they work with approximately 39,000 contaminated sites.<ref name=":8" /> Indeed, the US military is also considered one of the largest generators of pollution in the world.<ref name=":8" /> Combined, the top five US chemical companies only produce one fifth of the toxins produced by the Pentagon.<ref name=":4" /> In Canada, the Department of National Defence readily admits it is the largest energy consumer of the Government of Canada, and a consumer of “high volumes of hazardous materials”.<ref>Department of National Defence Canada (2017). Defence Energy and Environment Strategy. Retrieved from the Government of Canada Website: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/dnd-mdn/documents/reports/2017/20171004-dees-en.pdf</ref> Military pollution is a worldwide occurrence.<ref name=":4" /> Armed forces from around the world were responsible for the emission of two thirds of [[chlorofluorocarbon]]s (CFCs) that were banned in the 1987 [[Montreal Protocol]] for causing damage to the [[Ozone depletion|ozone layer]].<ref name=":4" /> In addition, naval accidents during the Cold War have dropped at minimum 50 nuclear warheads and 11 nuclear reactors into the ocean, they remain on the ocean floor.<ref name=":4" /> === Land and resource use === Military land use needs (such as for bases, training, storage etc.) often displace people from their lands and homes.<ref name=":4" /> Military activity uses solvents, fuels and other toxic chemicals which can leach toxins into the environment that remain there for decades and even centuries.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":4" /> Furthermore, heavy military vehicles can cause damage to soil and infrastructure.<ref name=":4" /> Military-caused noise pollution can also diminish the quality of life for nearby communities as well as their ability to rear or hunt animals to support themselves.<ref name=":4" /> Advocates raise concerns of [[environmental racism]] and/or environmental injustice as it is largely marginalized communities that are displaced and/or affected.<ref name=":9">Lorincz, T. (2014). Demilitarization for Deep Decarbonization: Reducing Militarism and Military Expenditures to Invest in the UN Green Climate Fund and to Create Low-Carbon Economies and Resilient Communities. Retrieved from The International Peace Bureau Website: http://www.ipb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Green_Booklet_working_paper_17.09.2014.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527120739/http://www.ipb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Green_Booklet_working_paper_17.09.2014.pdf |date=2018-05-27 }}</ref><ref name=":4" /> Militaries are also highly resource intensive.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":9" /> Weapons and military equipment make up the second largest international trade sector.<ref name=":4" /> The International Peace Bureau says that more than fifty percent of the helicopters in the world are for military use, and approximately twenty-five percent of jet fuel consumption is by military vehicles.<ref name=":4" /> These vehicles are also extremely inefficient, [[emission intensity|carbon-intensive]], and discharge emissions that are more toxic than those of other vehicles.<ref name=":9" /> === Activist responses === Military funding is, at present, higher than ever before, and activists are concerned about the implication for greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.<ref name=":9" /> They advocate for demilitarization, citing the high greenhouse gas emissions and support the redirection of those funds to climate action.<ref name=":9" /> Currently the world spends about 2.2% of global GDP on military funding according to the World Bank.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS|title=Military expenditure (% of GDP) {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|language=en-us|access-date=2018-05-26}}</ref> It is estimated that it would cost approximately one percent of global GDP yearly until 2030 to reverse the climate crisis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ourworldindata.org/how-much-will-it-cost-to-mitigate-climate-change|title=How much will it cost to mitigate climate change?|website=Our World in Data|access-date=2018-05-26|archive-date=2017-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612202524/https://ourworldindata.org/how-much-will-it-cost-to-mitigate-climate-change|url-status=dead}}</ref> Moreover, activists emphasize the need for prevention and the avoidance of costly clean up.<ref name=":9" /> Currently, the expense for cleaning up military contaminated site is at least $500 billion.<ref name=":4" /> Finally, activists point to social issues such as extreme poverty and advocate for more funding to be redirected from military expenses to these causes.<ref name=":9" /> Groups working for demilitarization and peace include the [[International Peace Bureau]], [[Canadian Voice of Women for Peace]], The Rideau Institute, Ceasefire.ca, [[Project Ploughshares]], and [[Code Pink|Codepink]]. See [[List of anti-war organizations]] for more groups. === Militaries' positive effects on the environment === There are examples from around the world of nations’ armed forces aiding in land management and conservation.<ref name=":10">D’Souza, E. (1994). The potential of the military in environmental protection: India. Unasylva – FAO. 46. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/v7850e/V7850e12.htm#The%20potential%20of%20the%20military%20in%20environmental%20protection:%20India</ref> For example, in Bhuj, India, military forces stationed there helped to reforest the area; in Pakistan, the Army took part in the Billion tree tsunami, working with civilians to reforest land in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|KPK]] and [[Punjab]].;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/pakistan-s-billion-tree-tsunami-is-astonishing/|title = Pakistan has planted over a billion trees}}</ref> in Venezuela, it is part of the [[Venezuelan National Guard|National Guard]]’s responsibilities to protect natural resources.<ref name=":10"/> Additionally, military endorsement of environmentally friendly technology such as renewable energy may have the potential to generate public support for these technologies.<ref>Light. S. (2014)b Interview by Knowledge@Wharton The Surprising Role the Military Plays in Environmental Protection [Print Interview]. Retrieved from: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/military-environmental-protection/</ref> Finally, certain military technologies like GPS and drones are helping environmental scientists, conservationists, ecologists and restoration ecologists conduct better research, monitoring, and remediation.<ref>Lawrence, M. et al. 2015. The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment. ''Environ. Rev. 23: 443–460'' dx.doi.org/10.1139/er-2015-0039</ref> Furthermore, on a small scale, Ukrainians have committed to using more sustainable forms of energy, with nationwide power outages in Ukraine driving public interest and demand for solar power, and the clean energy economy is growing. <ref>https://gizmodo.com/ukraine-black-sea-dolphin-deaths-russia-war-1850279402#</ref> ==War and environmental law== {{More citations needed section|date=February 2024}} {{Main|War and environmental law}} From a legal standpoint, environmental protection during times of war and military activities is addressed partially by international [[environmental law]]. Further sources are also found in areas of law such as general international law, the [[laws of war]], [[human rights law]] and local laws of each affected country. Several [[United Nations]] treaties, including the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], the 1972 [[World Heritage Convention]] and the 1977 [[Environmental Modification Convention]] have provisions to limit the environmental impacts of war. Additionally, the United Nations Environment Programme has begun doing in-depth evaluations for some current wars that explore the environmental impacts that the war is having with to aid in the creation of a more inclusive assessment of the impacts of the conflict. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kong |first=Lingjie |last2=Zhao |first2=Yuqing |date=December 2023 |title=Remedying the environmental impacts of war: Challenges and perspectives for full reparation |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-the-red-cross/article/abs/remedying-the-environmental-impacts-of-war-challenges-and-perspectives-for-full-reparation/B48A3E4A90525796F3E534085D55A5D7 |journal=International Review of the Red Cross |language=en |volume=105 |issue=924 |pages=1441–1462 |doi=10.1017/S1816383123000280 |issn=1816-3831}}</ref> The [[Environmental Modification Convention]] is an international treaty prohibiting the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects. The Convention bans weather warfare, which is the use of weather modification techniques for the purposes of inducing damage or destruction. This treaty is in force and has been ratified (accepted as binding) by leading military powers. ==See also== *[[Biological warfare]] *[[Chemical warfare]] *[[Environmental effects of the Syrian Civil War]] *[[Environmental impact of the Russian occupation of Crimea]] *[[Environmental impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] *[[List of environmental issues]] *[[Nuclear warfare]] *[[Nuclear winter]] *[[Scorched earth]] *[[Unconventional warfare]] *[[Well poisoning]] *[[War crimes]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== <!-- * {{cite book|author=|title=|publisher=|year=|isbn=|url=}} --> *{{cite book |editor=Austin, J.E. |editor2=Bruch, Carl E.|title=The Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000|isbn=9780521780209|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJKFkSkgTyIC}} * {{cite book|author=Brauer, Jurgen|title=War and Nature: The Environmental Consequences of War in a Globalized World|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2009|isbn=9780759112063|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=du7s13DfKC8C}} * {{cite book|author1=El- Baz, Farouk |author2=Makharita, Ragaa Mohamed |title=The Gulf War and the Environment|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1994|isbn=9782881246494|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2cmmgwUJH98C}} * {{cite book |last=Hayward | first = Joel | author-link = Joel Hayward | title = Airpower and the Environment: The Ecological Implications of Modern Air Warfare | year = 2013 | publisher = Air University Press | isbn = 978-1-58566-223-4}} * Naylor, Aliide. ''[https://gizmodo.com/ukraine-black-sea-dolphin-deaths-russia-war-1850279402 In Ukraine, Dead Dolphins Tell a Story of Ecocide and Violence]'' *{{cite book|author1=McNeill, J.R. |author2=Painter, David S. |chapter=The Global Environmental Footprint of the U.S. Military: 1789-2003|editor=Closman, Charles E.|title=War and the Environment: Military Destruction in the Modern Age|publisher=Texas A&M Press|year=2009|isbn=9781603441698|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zjs0teljUjQC&pg=PA10}} * {{cite book|editor=McNeill, J.R. |editor2=Unger, Corina|title=Environmental Histories of the Cold War|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780521762441|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hs-SHscWdYgC}} * {{cite book|editor=Price, Andrew R.G.|title=The 1991 Gulf War: Environmental Assessments of IUCN and Collaborators|publisher=IUCN|year=1994|isbn=9782831702056|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_okDDKq5NCwC}} * {{cite book|editor=Ṣādiq, Muḥammad |editor2=McCain, John Charles|title=The Gulf War Aftermath: An Environmental Tragedy|publisher=Springer|year=1993|isbn=9780792322788|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y-dp1DKdkUMC}} * {{cite book|editor=Westing, Arthur H. |chapter=Constraints on military disruption of the biosphere: an overview|title=Cultural Norms, War and the Environment|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1988|isbn=9780198291251|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Js-oxRiRoQkC&pg=PA1}} * {{cite book|editor=William Burr|title="Clean" Nukes and the Ecology of Nuclear War|publisher=The National Security Archive|year=2017|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2017-08-30/clean-nukes-ecology-nuclear-war}} ==External links== *[http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList277/8DA60E8AB11FACE0C1256C22003B8520 Protection of the Environment During Armed Conflict] *[http://www.eisil.org/index.php?sid=248403119&cat=429&t=sub_pages Armed Conflict and Protection of the Environment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717183241/http://www.eisil.org/index.php?sid=248403119&cat=429&t=sub_pages |date=2011-07-17 }} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080219014107/http://www2.eli.org/research/war.htm Addressing Environmental Consequences of War] A program of the [[Environmental Law Institute]] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090204123107/http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2001_2005/press/iraqstatement210303.pdf Armed Conflict and the Environment: IUCN Statement] {{Human impact on the environment}} {{Pollution}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Environmental Issues With War}} [[Category:Environmental impact of war| ]] [[Category:Aftermath of war]]'