On 5 November 2001, the UN General Assembly declared 6 November of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. Background Though humanity has always counted its war casualties in terms of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war. Water wells have been polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed to gain military advantage. Furthermore, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found that over the last 60 years, at least 40 percent of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources, whether high-value resources such as timber, diamonds, gold and oil, or scarce resources such as fertile land and water. Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to relapse. On 27 May 2016, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted resolution UNEP/EA.2/Res.15, which recognized the role of healthy ecosystems and sustainably managed resources in reducing the risk of armed conflict, and reaffirmed its strong commitment to the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals listed in General Assembly resolution 70/1, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Environment and Conflicts Why protect the environment in war and armed conflict? Wars and armed conflicts can severely harm the environment through direct destruction, the use of toxic weapons, and have long-lasting legacies. Modern conflicts often target or incidentally destroy vital environmental infrastructure, including water systems, farmland, forests, and energy facilities. Such damage contaminates air, soil, and water, disrupts food production, and spreads disease. As natural resources are the basis of economic recovery and food security, damage hinders communities’ capacity to rebuild, perpetuating poverty and instability. Environmental degradation can therefore prolong displacement and hinder peacebuilding. War’s environmental toll can also last for decades: toxic soils, deforestation, and lost biodiversity leave legacies that harm future generations. Protecting the environment in war is thus an ethical imperative, ensuring that the right to life, health, and a habitable planet endures beyond the conflict itself. Furthermore, protecting the environment is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law. The Geneva Conventions, under their 1977 Additional Protocol I, prohibit warfare that causes “widespread, long-term and severe damage” to the environment. The International Law Commission’s 2022 “Principles on the Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts (PERAC)” expands this obligation across all stages of conflict: before, during, and after hostilities. These norms reflect the understanding that protecting the environment is inseparable from protecting humanity itself. The UNEA resolution 2/15 recognized the role of healthy ecosystems and sustainably managed resources in reducing the risk of armed conflict. More recently, in March 2024, UNEA6 adopted a resolution 6/12 on Environmental assistance and recovery in areas affected by armed conflict: highlighted that environmental degradation in situations of armed conflict and post-conflict can have an impact on human health, well-being and livelihoods acknowledged that the important role that effective, inclusive and sustainable environmental assistance can play in conflict recovery and sustainable development in areas affected by armed conflict. Source : United Nations