With a growing number of individuals and organisations working on environmental security, and on a range of international, regional and domestic initiatives, it’s a good time to examine whether we are working effectively. This blog considers why greater civil society collaboration on environmental security is not only timely but vital.
Since 2015, a number of different actors have published data on the environmental impact of the conflict in Ukraine. Doug Weir and Nickolai Denisov take a look at the different methodologies that have been used to monitor environmental harm, their findings, and what the studies tell us about how monitoring could be improved.
The plenary sessions of UNEA-3 saw a number of states highlight the environmental impact of armed conflicts and terrorism. These had been encouraged by the negotiations on a resolution on the topic at the assembly. The plenary statements were a reflection of national experiences and perspectives on conflict and the environment; Foeke Postma examines who said what, and why.
After months of negotiations, governments at the UN Environment Assembly have finally agreed a consensus resolution on conflict pollution that was tabled by Iraq. It’s the first UN resolution to focus on the health and environmental risks posed by toxic remnants of war, read our analysis.
After four months of consultations and negotiations, it’s decision time for governments over Iraq’s UN Environment Assembly resolution on conflict pollution. However with deep divisions on show between states on the role of the environment in matters of peace and security, Doug Weir suggests that it is still unclear what will happen when negotiations begin again tomorrow.
Governments at the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee have welcomed the continuation of the International Law Commission’s study into the legal framework protecting the environment in relation to armed conflicts. However, while there was near universal support for the study, its scope, priorities and eventual outcome are all still subject to debate.
33 NGOs and 12 experts mark the UN’s 6th November #EnvConflictDay 2017 by releasing a joint statement calling for progress on conflict and the environment.
To date, debate over the implications of the growing use of armed drones has focused on human rights, on the expansion of the use of force into new contexts, and on the imbalances created by the newfound ability to project violence at a distance. Doug Weir and Elizabeth Minor consider the environmental dimensions of the use of drone warfare. They find the literature to be largely absent of considerations over the environmental and derived humanitarian impacts of drone operations, and so this blog, should be viewed as a starting point for efforts to assess the environmental consequences of the use of armed drones.
