Protecting the natural environment in armed conflict
Photo: Abdikarim Mohamed Abdullahi
Armed conflict damages the natural environment that communities depend on to survive. New ICRC guidance sets out practical steps states can take to put the rules protecting it into practice.
Countries affected by armed conflict must cope at the same time with a rapidly intensifying global environmental and climate crisis. Armed conflicts deepen that crisis by damaging the environment and reducing people's resilience to climate shocks and erratic weather.
Natural ecosystems have declined by almost 50% on average over the past 50 years, and around 25% of animal and plant species are close to extinction. Conflict is one indirect driver of that loss. This is dangerous, partly because ecosystems and biodiversity are crucial for sustaining human life and helping people adapt to climate change.
How international humanitarian law protects the environment
International humanitarian law (IHL) protects the natural environment during armed conflict. Its rules prohibit:
- using means or methods of warfare that are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.
- attacking any part of the natural environment, unless it is a military objective.
- launching an attack against a military objective which may be expected to cause incidental damage to the environment which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
- destruction of any part of the natural environment, unless required by imperative military necessity.
- pillage of the natural environment, including natural resources.
From rules to practice
To safeguard the environment of conflict-affected communities and future generations, states and non-state armed groups need to accelerate the implementation of IHL rules protecting the natural environment.
The ICRC's 2020 Guidelines on the Protection of the Natural Environment in Armed Conflict set out 32 rules and recommendations relevant to reducing wartime environmental damage. The new implementation guidance builds on them. It sets out concrete measures for national authorities, with checklists and examples of state practice, across seven areas:
- The prohibition of widespread, long-term and severe environmental damage
- Protection of the environment under the general rules on the conduct of hostilities
- The prohibition of hostile use of environmental modification techniques
- Measures to understand and minimize the environmental impact of military operations
- Designating fragile environmental zones as protected zones
- Weapons reviews that include the environment
- Dissemination of and training on these rules
The guidance also supports implementation of the UN International Law Commission's Principles on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts.
