The Environmental Costs of War

Dec 10, 2023 | Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou
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Human rights abuses and war crimes are outlined and addressed by law. However, when the environment is implicated, what laws apply?

According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nature Resources of Ukraine, more than 80% of water had been lost from the Kakhovka Reservoir, which provided drinking water to over 1 million Ukrainians. Syria has lost 270 km2 of tree cover, between 2001 and 2022, marking a 26% decrease. According to the 2023 World Drug Report, 20% of coca cultivation is located in the Amazon Basin, and between 2000 and 2021 drug-related deforestation claimed 7,350 km2 in Caquetá, 656,000 km2 in Meta, 3,710 km2 in Guaviare and 2,360 km2 in Putumayo. From 1962 to 1971, 20 million gallons of Agent Orange, a defoliant with a dangerous byproduct, dioxin TCDD, were sprayed in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos leading to soil contamination and long-term human health problems. 

The environment must be completely integrated into how we think about warfare. It’s the water we drink, the food we eat, the air we breathe.