EnPAx Mourns the Passing of Arthur H. Westing

May 6, 2020 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Members of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association are mourning the passing of Arthur H. Westing.  Arthur died April 30, in Shelburne, Vermont; he was 91.

Arthur was a pioneer, catalyzing international interest in the environmental impacts of war.  He was a member of the mission by the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) to South Viet Nam that examined the environmental impacts of spraying of Agent Orange and other military tactics.  The AAAS report was instrumental -- as was Arthur's meeting with Ellsworth Bunk, the U.S. Ambassador to South Viet Nam -- in convincing the United States to cease aerial spraying of Agent Orange.  He was influential in convincing the U.S. to ratify the 1925 Geneva Protocol (prohibiting the use of asphyxiating and poisonous gases during war).  Two days before the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, which launched the modern environmental movement, Arthur and a colleague met privately with Olof Palme, the Prime Minister of Sweden. As Arthur recounted:

"We spent about an hour explaining our findings in words and pictures. Palme appeared to be very moved and asked many questions. It must be noted that during the preconference preparatory sessions, the USA had made it clear that it would boycott the event if military disruption of the environment were included in its agenda, a requirement that was, in fact, strictly adhered to. However, when Palme opened the Conference with his welcoming address he added several long minutes to his prepared speech decrying anti-environmental tactics by armed forces in an already environmentally beleaguered planet. Although Palme had not mentioned the United States in those added remarks, there was no doubt as to what he was referring. This jab so infuriated the USA that it immediately recalled its Ambassador from Sweden for ‘consultations’."

The final principle of the Stockholm Declaration (Principle 26) focused on protecting people and the environment from the devastating effects of weapons of mass destruction.  

Over the subsequent three decades (and more), Arthur was a prolific writer on the environmental impacts of war, both as a scholar and as an advocate.  He authored numerous scholarly articles, reports, books, and newspaper pieces (a list of his publications is available at https://www.prio.org/People/Person/?x=5117).  The impressive volume of material was also of high quality, carefully researched, written, and supported.  Arthur was a stickler for precision and accuracy.  It is difficult to overstate his impact as a scholar, thinker, mentor, and advocate.  The field of environmental peacebuilding owes much to Arthur's vision, scholarship, and advocacy.

Arthur's vision and early work paved the way for many.  For example, many people in the field of environmental peacebuilding are familiar with the foundational 2009 report by UNEP on "From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment".  More than 30 years earlier, though, Arthur headed a project for UNEP on "Peace, Security, and the Environment", which produced another series of foundational publications, starting with Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Environment (Taylor & Francis, 1977).  Arthur’s 1986 book on Global Resources and International Conflict was important for debates on natural resources and wars, helping to nuance discussions around the effects of environmental degradation and “strategic” materials on rivalries. In this way, he greatly helped to map out and qualify a much broader gamut of relations than many neo-Malthusians and “resource wars” accounts had provided.   Arthur also contributed early thinking how transfrontier conservation could support conflict prevention and confidence building.

In October 2019, Carl Bruch, President of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, opened the First International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding by noting that almost 50 years earlier (in fact 49 years and 10 months earlier), Arthur set off on his first trip to South Viet Nam.  It is staggering to recognize how far we have come over those 50 years in understanding and addressing the environmental impacts of war, as well as the broader relationship between environment, conflict, and peace -- even as we redouble our energies on preventing conflict and its environmental impacts. It all started with Arthur's mission to South Viet Nam. Now, however, there are many more of us to carry forward the struggle, and we have much more knowledge and capacity. Thank you, Arthur, for inspiring us.     

A number of colleagues have written touching tributes honoring Arthur, including:

- Nils Petter Gleditsch: https://blogs.prio.org/2020/05/in-memoriam-arthur-h-westing-1928-2020/

- Jerry Carbone: https://www.facebook.com/jerry.carbone.52/posts/10160020456614698

- SIPRI: https://www.sipri.org/media/2020/former-sipri-researcher-arthur-h-westing-memoriam

5ec05f1e58dca

 Arthur H. Westing, 2011 (source: Arthur H. Westing: Pioneer in the Environmental Impact of War, Springer 2013)