Governments Can No Longer Ignore War’s Impact on People - and Planet

Nov 6, 2017 | Doug Weir
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Since its inception in 2001, the United Nations' International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict on November 6th has mainly served as a reminder of how the environment remains a forgotten victim of warfare.

However, in recent years there have been signs that the international community is slowly beginning to address its collective blind spot over the environmental dimensions of armed conflicts.

This process is becoming ever more urgent as ongoing conflicts continue to reveal the means through which the environment can act as both facilitator and victim of warfare, and the price that people and ecosystems pay for our indifference.