Unless we know how the environment has been harmed during conflicts, planning assistance to people and ecosystems is impossible. Could low cost participatory research help plug the current data collection gap in areas affected by conflicts?
Clearing land mines and tackling unexploded ordnance can harm the environment. Together with Norwegian People’s Aid, we surveyed the environmental attitudes and policies of mine action operators to try and identify where their practice could be improved.
The need to improve environmental standards in mine action is particularly clear when working in areas with rich or sensitive ecosystems. Kendra Dupuy and Linsey Cottrell report from their field visit to Colombia and on the challenges mainstreaming faces there.
A recent workshop co-hosted by NPA, CEOBS and The HALO Trust demonstrated the growing interest in the need to mainstream the environment and climate change in mine action. In this blog, Linsey Cottrell and Kendra Dupuy report on the outcomes from the event in Geneva.
Clearing land mines and explosive remnants of war can also harm the environment. In a joint project, CEOBS is working with Norwegian People’s Aid to try and identify how this harm can be reduced. Kendra Dupuy and Linsey Cottrell share their thoughts as they begin the project.
For new and ongoing conflicts across the world, the need to document their impact on civilians and the environment upon which they depend is encouraging the development of new research tools and methodologies. With civilians increasingly able to access the Internet and mobile networks, new opportunities are being created for the collection of environmental data, by experts and civilians alike.
