Non-State Actors and Post-Conflict Emissions Management

May 31, 2019 | Charlotte Collins
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Armed conflict, in addition to its human toll, can devastate a nation’s environment and natural resources. Post-conflict instability can lead to increased carbon emissions and resource depletion even after the conflict has ended. The end of hostilities often leads to increased deforestation, as sections of forests previously used by armed forces becomes available for economic and social reconstruction. In the policy and governance void that often exists after a conflict, forests—perhaps the world’s most valuable carbon sequestration system—are subject to uncontrolled exploitation.

 Following a conflict, Non-State Actors (NSAs) often enter the region, and it is in their power either to repair environmental damage and develop sustainably or exploit and emit.