Addressing Environmental Consequences of War

The past century has seen the development of particularly devastating military technologies. The horrific consequences of armed conflict affect more than just the innocent victims of a war zone. Military conflict has also wrought large-scale environmental devastation, whether in the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts and seas of the Persian Gulf, or the mountains of Africa. This destruction is occurring despite a large body of legal and moral prescriptions that require military actions to focus on combatants.

Improving Natural Resource Management in Post-Conflict Countries

Natural resources can — and increasingly do — play a central role in building a sustainable peace in post-conflict societies. Many conflicts were directly related to or fueled by valuable natural resources such as timber or minerals, and the transition to peace in fragile post-conflict societies requires a careful consideration of natural resource management. An inability of governments to deliver key services (water, food, shelter, livelihoods, and other resource-dependent essentials for life) can destabilize weakened societies recovering from conflict.

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