Armed conflicts not only kill people but also destroy a massive environment. The United Nations are working on solutions to protect the nature in the war. Scientists world-wide, the.
Burning oil Wells in Iraq on fire by the “Islamic state”
Toxins from bombs seep into groundwater and make people sick. Rockets hit refineries and contaminate the soil with Oil. Fighters destroy forests and destroy the basis of life of the opponent. In war, the protection of the environment is secondary. However, this can have long-term consequences and to lead in times of peace, a new set of problems.
“War and the environment do not fit together,” says the retired international law Professor, Manfred Mohr in the DW-interview. “Wars or military conflicts affect the environment, always more or less difficult.” For decades, scientists and politicians to discuss how nature and the animal world in the event of a war can be protected.
To Friday theInternational works law Commission of the United Nations of possible approaches to the solution of the problem.
Oil, debris and stench
Wim Zwijnenburg has seen with his own eyes, as wars ravage the nature. He works for the Dutch peace organisation PAX, the environmental destruction observed in Wars around the world and analyzed. Last has Zwijnenburg with the Situation in Iraq and Syria.
“It is a complex conflict,” says the researcher on the civil war in Syria. For over eight years, where it is fought, many people died. Almost twelve million Syrians had to leave their home. The war is also affecting Ecosystems and agriculture .
“There are different levels of environmental destruction,” says Zwijnenburg. The Oil industry in Syria has become the target of massive attacks. In some regions, oil Spills could have spread. The burden on the natural extremely. “In the North-East of Syria, the Oil floats on the rivers,” says Zwijnenburg. “Fortunately, most of the large refineries are located in the vicinity of inhabited areas.”
Environmental pollution in the North-East of Syria: An Oil slick floating on a river
In addition to the Oil industry, the water had been infrastructure had been hard hit, says Zwijnenburg: “treatment plants have been attacked, so many people have no access to clean water.” As a result, it is lacking in water for agriculture. Farmers drive less income, the effect on the food supply in the regions.
In addition, the state control in other areas is broken part together. Garbage accumulates in the streets. No one knows what to do with the Remains of destroyed houses. “Something’s got to happen with the millions of tons of rubble,” says Zwijnenburg.
“Often, this is mixed but with heavy metals or toxic substances.” The people would now burn their garbage, but not without a price for the environment: “Many complain about the air pollution and the stench.”
The Starting Point Of The Vietnam War
All of these are not new problems. In the Vietnam war who went in 1975 to the end, were particularly serious damage to the nature. On the orders of President John F. Kennedy, the American air force sprayed at the time, tons of defoliant. The so-called “Agent Orange” to destroy the forests clear, and rice fields. The United States wanted to take their opponents of hiding places and food source.
Later it became known that Agent Orange contained highly toxic Dioxin. It contaminated the soil and led to malformations in the newborn. Although medical studies show to the contrary, to the best of the USA riding today, that the diseases were related to Agent Orange.
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50 years ago: Area-wide use of Agent OrangeProxy war
After the division of Vietnam in 1954, the United States support South Vietnam in the fight against the Communist resistance fighters received later than “Vietcong” (“Vietnamese Communists”) in the history books.
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50 years ago: Area-wide use of Agent OrangeGuerrilla war
The National Front for the liberation of South Vietnam, the official name of the Vietcong, in the densely forested tropical Region, a guerilla war against the Americans. To the enemies from the air and attack watch, the U.S. air force, among other things, the highly toxic defoliant “Agent Orange”.
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50 years ago: Area-wide use of Agent OrangeUse
50 years ago, Agent Orange, which contains highly toxic Dioxin comes, for nationwide application. It is to take the opponents of the war, the refuge and the ability to camouflage. During the Vietnam war, about 80 million liters of Agent Orange were sprayed.
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50 years ago: Area-wide use of Agent OrangeUp to three million victims
The United States is accused of chemical warfare. According to the statistics of the charity organization “Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange” came up to three million Vietnamese in contact with the herbicides. 150,000 children had come out with birth defects on the world. Other typical symptoms: immune deficiency and cancer.
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50 years ago: Area-wide use of Agent OrangeClass action rejected
In 2009, victims ‘ families failed before the Supreme court of the United States with a class-action lawsuit. The use of Agent Orange did not violate international law, because it was for the protection of the U.S. armed forces against behind, and not as a weapon of war against people used to think, – stated in the explanatory statement.
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50 years ago: Area-wide use of Agent OrangeThe long shadow
2012 participated in the USA for the first Time at the elimination of environmental damage at the former US airbase in Danang. This was sealed off for decades by high walls, as here on the photo.
“The deliberate destruction of the environment for military purposes is outlawed, fortunately, in the meantime, the ENMOD Convention of 1976,” says international lawyer Mohr. At the suggestion of the Soviet Union, the United Nations developed after the Vietnam war, for first rules for dealing with nature in Wars. The ENMOD Convention prohibits targeted military intervention in the natural processes of nature. 77 States have signed the agreement, the United States.
“In Parallel, there was legislation attempts in the humanitarian international,” says Mohr. It has been determined that “War, the environment should treat environment-friendly”. In addition, each have the human right to a healthy environment, says Mohr. Thus, there are already numerous regulations in place to prevent the deliberate destruction of the natural and animal world in Wars. However, not all countries followed the call. As Iraqi troops continued in 1991 in the First Gulf war, 700 Kuwaiti oil Wells on fire. It took months to clear the fire – a disaster for the environment.
A new Geneva Convention
The international law Commission of the United Nations is working to ensure that something like this happens again. 9. August sit together 34 independent legal experts in Geneva. You have adopted 28 principles, in order to prevent environmental destruction in the war.
It says, for example, that the natural environment should not be attacked. In order for this to work, should protection zones be defined, which will be spared in the war. In addition, each time you attack, the consequences for nature would have to be taken into account. States would have to pay for the destruction of the natural after a war.
But many critics are zahlos the existing provisions. In an open letter, currently rehearsals 24 scientists from around the world are calling for a better protection of the environment in the event of war. One of them is José Brito, from the University in Porto, Portugal is.
“We call on the Commission to consider the idea of a fifth Geneva Convention”, says Brito of the DW. The previous four conventions would only include the rights of people in the war. “A fifth Convention was for the protection of the environment.”
Dangerous for health: people in Syria’s own little oil Refineries, build”
“It is an honorable attempt,” says international lawyer, Manfred Mohr. However, a new Convention was not simply necessary: “There are already enough rules, you must enforce them only.” Now the war could be parties for environmental damage accountable, says Mohr. It happens only too rarely.
In addition, the States of the world were currently not ready to adopt a new Geneva Convention: “at Present, the political situation is such that we can hardly come up with great new arrangements.” Especially countries, the current wars, would not explain a sudden ready for any environmental damage. This would push up the cost of the war in the height, so Mohr.
For many years destroyed
Whether it is through a series of principles, or a new Geneva Convention – for the future, it is particularly important that the issue of environmental destruction during the war get more attention, says Wim Zwijnenburg from PAX. “It’s often not a high priority.” Therefore, it is also difficult to get money for the reconstruction and the renewal of nature after the conflict.
Also for the affected people of international interest for the issue to be more good. “The government in the war countries, will not help you to solve the problem.” Often it takes years until the nature, and the livelihoods of the people have recovered.
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Libya’s impending drinking water crisisThe bare minimum is just
In Libya, a crisis in the health care system is. Especially in the West of the country, drinking water is scarce. 101 of the 149 line shafts of the water system were destroyed already. Reason military battles and the functioning of the authorities.
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Libya’s impending drinking water crisisThe modern management system degenerates
Libya consists mostly of desert. Under the Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, the “Great Man Made River” (GMMR) was created in the 1980s, a wide range of water pipe network. The wires that supply about 70 percent of the country with fresh water. Since the fall of Gaddafi, the management system is damaged, but again and again.
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Libya’s impending drinking water crisisCivil war and Chaos
Since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, Chaos reigns in the country. The internationally recognized unit of government in Tripoli is weak and has large parts of the country under control. The renegade General Khalifa Haftar controlled with his self-proclaimed Libyan national army (LNA) of large areas especially in the East of the country.
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Libya’s impending drinking water crisisThe Target Of Attack Tripoli
The LNA utilizes the water system as a means of pressure to enforce their demands, and threatened the inhabitants of the country. In may, armed supporters Haftars forced the employees of the water supply to Tripoli for two days by the water cut off. Thus, they pushed for the release of a prisoner.
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Libya’s impending drinking water crisisA Weapon Of War Water
Not only rebel groups use the water system for their interests. There are also people, Unscrew the fountain-heads, in order to sell the copper. The United Nations warned all sides in Libya not to use water as a weapon of war.
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Libya’s impending drinking water crisisRisk for the health
The UNICEF spokesperson for Libya, Mostafa Omar, estimates that in the future, around four million people could be denied access to safe drinking water, if the problems are not solved. Hepatitis A, Cholera and other diarrheal diseases could be the result.
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Libya’s impending drinking water crisisDrinking water, which is none
The water is not only scarce, in many places, it is also contaminated. Bacteria and a high concentration of salt making it inedible. “Often it is actually drinking water,“ says the head of the National centre for disease control, Badr al-Din al-Najjar.