International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict:

6 November

Tehran November 7 ,2010By Dr. S. Babran

CPE Director

Center for Peace and Environment

• Established in 2006, seeks to promote dialogue on issues pertaining to peace and protection of the global environment

• Three seminars have been convened in Tehran• Today CPE holds the Fourth Seminar on the

Effects of War on the Environment, Held in Tehran in collaboration with UNEP Office of Conflict Assessment and Diplomatic Community of Tehran

• Since 2000, the world has witnessed over 35 major conflicts and some 2,500 disasters.

Global Situation

• Since 1990, at least eighteen violent conflicts have been fuelled by the exploitation of natural resources.

• 40% of all intrastate conflicts since 1960 have a link to natural resources

• Intrastate conflicts linked to natural resources are twice as likely to relapse to conflict in five years.

• Environmental degradation caused by conflicts and also climate change are major drivers in both forced and voluntary migration.

• Millions of people are projected to be flooded annually by 2080 due to the two factors.

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• UNEP’s first environment assessment was conducted in 1991 following the Iraq war.

• From Kosovo to Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan,…,UNEP has responded to crisis situations in more than 25 countries in the last decade.

•Through the Disasters and Conflicts programme, UNEP provides four core services to Member States:

•Post-crisis environmental assessments•Post-crisis environmental recovery

•Environmental cooperation for peacebuilding•Disaster risk reduction

•Additionally, as the focal point for environment within the humanitarian coordination system, UNEP formally established a programme in Humanitarian Action and Early Recovery in 2009. 

• Less than a quarter of peace negotiations aiming to resolve conflicts with links to natural resources have addressed resource management mechanisms.

• The UN system must systematically integrate environment, conflict and peacebuilding analysis throughout all phases of planning.

Palestine

• Uprooting trees• The olive tree, a universal symbol of peace has been the object of conflict in the

Arab-Israeli conflict. The uprooting of the ancient olive trees, as a by product of war, has had tremendous affects on the Palestinian agriculture, economy, and identity. In Palestine, the olive tree is prized for its historical presence, its beauty, its symbolic significance, and most importantly for its economic significance. Olive trees are a major commercial crop for Palestine, and many families depend on it for their livelihood.

• Destruction of natural areas• Demolition of water resources