Beyond Bloodshed: War's Hidden Scars on the Planet.
Navigating through history and highlighting the Impacts of War on our Environment.
This article does not in any way minimize the consequences of conflicts nor does it show allegiance but a non-biased glimpse into the impacts of war on the environment.
Happy New Year and a new Monday!
Welcome to yet another year of exciting climate topics that I can’t wait to share with you all. I recently ran a poll on my Instagram asking my audience there what topics they’d like me to touch on. You asked, and I listened. Thanks to all who participated in my series of polls, your suggested topics made it into the list for 2024. If we are not connected on Instagram, kindly follow me here @monicafatogun
Looking back now, it feels like the last five (5) years before 2024 were a blur with many historic events like the Coronavirus pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the BLM movement, and now, the prevailing Israel-Gaza war. Through shared pictures and videos, social media has made it easier to keep tabs in real time on the casualties and effects of wars. With thousands of lives lost and properties damaged, the environment is one victim that is heavily overlooked and understudied. This month, I will walk you through some historical wars that highlight the forgotten casualty of war.
“But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
-Rachel Carson (Silent Springs)
WHAT IS WAR?
A war is described as a state of conflict between 2 or more countries with the use of weapons and ammunition. Wars have been practiced for centuries and are characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and death, fuelled by socio-political conflict, or religious reasons. Some of these are the Russian Civil War, World War I & II, the Nigerian Civil War, and the Indo-Pakistani War, among many others.
According to Oxford Academic 2020, the current estimate of wars falls between 4 and 6 trillion dollars and the Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) presented a 2022 report showing that the global military emits around 2,750 million tonnes of carbon dioxide which is equivalent to about 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
1. BEFORE THE WAR.
Most times, the environmental impacts begin before the war fully ensues. The military which comprises air, sea, and ground forces is the first in line when dealing with security matters. This means undergoing regular exercises and training for readiness which involves tactical maneuvers, arms testing, combat training, and maintenance of military equipment. More practice means more demand for weapons and the depletion of natural resources.
Military Training and Activities on Land
The physical disturbance of the soil by digging trenches, undergoing combat, or placing heavy machinery or vehicles affects its structure and composition. A paper written by Ayers and P.D. on Environmental Damage from Tracked Vehicle Operation in 1998, showed these training activities caused severe vegetation damage and decreased plant development on the land. A soil that is regularly disturbed with planted landmines, trenching, grenades, military exercises, etc. wards off and kills the microorganisms present hence a barren land.
Military training and activities on the Sea
The Naval forces of different countries train on the seas and use firearms and sonar systems to detect enemy submarines. These have negative impacts on the aquatic ecosystems. After a lot of controversy surrounding their effects on whales, the US Navy in 2021 admitted concerns that the sounds from the systems including vessel strikes are causing cetacean deaths (Centre for Biological Diversity, 2021). The NY Times believes there is strong scientific backing to suggest a wide range of marine life is impacted by the sound produced during military activities. Some of these are impairing animal’s hearing, causing damage to the coral ecosystem, changes in migration patterns, brain hemorrhaging, and deaths.
In addition, naval conflicts encouraged invasive species like the accidental introduction of the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) as a stowaway into Guam after WWII (1949) which subsequently invaded all terrestrial ecosystems leading to the extinction of some native invertebrates thus having a measurable effect on the local biodiversity (Rodda and Savidge 2007).
2. DURING THE WAR.
These impacts are difficult to estimate as it has varying factors such as the intensity and duration of the wars. Some conflicts may be for a short duration but highly destructive. Others last for decades but have been fought at low intensity, while many conflicts have been deadly and lasted for years. What remains clear is these warfares lead to the depletion of natural resources and a sharp rise in CO2 emissions. Wars increase the demand for the manufacturing and deployment of arms, explosives, fuel, manpower, management, etc. among others. Furthermore, the use of these weapons leaves large quantities of debris which causes air and water pollution and soil contamination. As a result of naval accidents, there are at least 50 nuclear warheads and 11 nuclear reactors littering the ocean floor (International Peace Bureau, 2002).
Airstrikes and deploying missiles more often than not target buildings, roads, and other infrastructure, causing piles of demolished waste. These are specifically targeted to close the country’s access to defend itself. In addition, these attacks on infrastructures like canals, wells, and pumps inadvertently pollute large areas. For a closer understanding, we will take a closer look into the ongoing Israel-Gaza Genocide.
The Israel- Gaza Genocide.
Since Israel’s creation in 1948, Israeli-Palestinian relations have remained contentious with Israel’s occupation restricting Palestinians’ housing, movements, etc. which is similar to an open-air prison.
This 75-year conflict peaked in the last months of 2023 with the Gaza strip being bombarded with 25,000 tonnes of 2000-pound bombs by Israeli forces (Euronews, 2023).
Earlier this year, South- African legal penalized Israel in the International Court of Justice and stated that the bombings increased the human death toll to 23,210 with 7,000 remaining unconfirmed.
The bombings have destroyed about 439,000 homes, churches, and mosques including other properties (WSJ,2023). In November 2023, an Israeli reporter who went to Beit Hanoun in Gaza said that “Barely a single inhabitable building remains standing” (Reuters, 2023).
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), about 10% of the rubble in Gaza cities is of asbestos material, which is carcinogenic along with aerosolized concrete which poses a major health hazard. In addition, The victims present under the completely demolished city will be exposed to several pollutants and toxic leachates emanating from rotting bodies as well as from the debris.
Furthermore, Gaza has been subjected to a strict blockade that prevents access to food, electricity, and water, which is a war crime; starving the civilians. The Israeli government claims it is to limit Hamas’s access to weapons -(Guardian, 2023).
3. AFTER THE WAR
After the crumbling echoes of detonated bombs, destroyed cities, and hundreds of deaths, a peace agreement is made, and in comes the aftermath…
The aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, and the Manhattan Project (Oppenheimer) all showed indications of the scale of environmental damage from the use of nuclear weapons. The Columbia River near the site of the Manhatten Project got contaminated while killing its wildlife. The residual radiation lasted for decades in Hiroshima and Nagasaki leading to environmental contamination (Energy and Radioactivity, 2006).
Almost every Rwandan household has been impacted by the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 which resulted in deaths and millions of displaced people. This inadvertently caused a mass clearing of forest cover, to cater to the needs of the growing population of refugees. A total of 15,000 ha of forests were destroyed and 35,000ha were damaged during the genocide. (Accord, 2010)
Many African and Asian countries suffer from environmental degradation post wars. Enemies are known to use the “Scorched Earth Tactic” which is a military practice where retreating armies lay waste to enemy territory. An example is during the Vietnam War (1961-1971), the US sprayed 11 million gallons of “Agent Orange” a carcinogenic herbicide, to scar Vietnam’s farming landscape making trees lose their foliage and creating a wasteland that has not fully recovered from the ecological damage till present (International Peace Bureau, 2002).
Although the figures are contested by the US, Vietnam has accounted for over 3 million people who died from its exposure while the victims were reported to have birth and other health disorders (Washington Post, 2007).
Land mines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war can restrict access to agricultural land and pollute soils and water sources with metals like lead and mercury which contaminate soils and groundwater while exposing those who work on it to acute and chronic health risks (Hofmann, U and Rapillard P, 2015). Wrecked or damaged ships, submarines and offshore oil infrastructure can cause marine pollution. Many conventional weapons have toxic constituents, such as depleted uranium which is radioactive (Pax, 2014).
India’s accidental missile firing at Pakistan has added more tension to their conflict history, and a study written in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists envisages a nuclear encounter using weapons roughly the size of a Hiroshima bomb between the 2 countries in 2025. This is believed to inject more than 17 million tonnes of black carbon into the atmosphere. As Nature remains a reigning casualty of war, advocates have raised concerns about environmental racism and injustice between developed countries and marginalized communities in developing countries. It remains to be seen what happens next but one thing is clear- the impact of war on the region’s economy and environment will take generations to repair.
The question is can we ever win the war for peace and unequivocally save the planet?
Thanks for walking down history with me, and remember I’m rooting for you.
Monica Fatogun
The Nature Nymph
References
Accord. 2010. Environmental causes and impacts of the genocide in Rwanda.Case studies of the towns of Butare and Cyangugu
Agent Orange still haunts Vietnam
Conflict and Environment Observatory, 2020, How does war damage the environment?
Estimating the Costs of War: Methodological Issues, with Applications to Iraq and Afghanistan
Hiding in Plain Sight: India and Pakistan’s Global Environmental Threat, 2022
International Peace Bureau 2002, The Military’s impact on the environment
Lawrence M.J, Stembal et. al, 2015, The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment.
Robock A et. al, 2019. How an India-Pakistan nuclear war could start—and have global consequences.