Environmental damage caused by war has an enormous impact on the environment in the affected areas. War not only causes incredible suffering for people, but also leaves behind environmental destruction with long-term negative consequences.
Images of the current war in Ukraine show not only desperate people and destroyed buildings, but also completely devastated natural areas. Trees are burnt, fields are barren and entire areas of land are destroyed.
Environmental damage caused by war – the long-term consequences
The war of aggression in Ukraine shows the massive consequences of war. The important agricultural areas that supply a large proportion of the world’s population with grain as well as sunflowers and rapeseed for the production of oils cannot be cultivated.
What environmental pollution caused by war means:
- affected areas are permanently contaminated
- heavy air pollution from bombing and thus in many cases the release of heavy metals into the air
- fields are burned and cannot be used for agriculture
- waters and seas are poisoned by bombardment of harbors and ships
- possible radioactive material can be released via damaged nuclear power plants or radioactive storage sites.
The intact natural ecosystems and large areas of agricultural land are destroyed in the long term. The environmental damage caused by the war is immense with the contamination of water, soil and air pollution. The environmental protection goals are no longer achievable in the long term. The war has a direct and massive impact on climate protection.
It could take a very long time for ecosystems in the war zones to regenerate and for former agricultural land to be cultivated again. Due to these consequences, the United Nations World Food Program warns of the negative effects of the war in Ukraine on the global food supply. The longer the conflict lasts, the greater the impact on the affected landscapes, people and biodiversity.
Massive environmental damage caused by war is prohibited under international law. The Environmental Warfare Convention of 1976 and an additional protocol to the Geneva Convention prohibit forms of war using environmentally damaging techniques with “long-lasting or severe effects”. These include military interventions in the natural cycles of the environment. For example flooding of mines can contaminate large areas. Possible attacks on refineries can result in soil contamination.
In an interview with Ms. Astrid Sahm from the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs) on BR (Bayrischer Rundfunk, source see below), she takes stock of the war and its consequences for climate protection. The question is how Russia’s war against Ukraine affects international climate protection. Ms. Sahm concludes that without a successful structural change in the Ukrainian economy, the goal of “transforming Europe into a climate-neutral continent” cannot be achieved. To date, around 30% of Ukraine’s electricity needs are still covered by hard coal and the steel industry is very important. However, there is a lack of financial resources for important reforms such as in the energy and industrial sectors as a result of the war.
Sources:
Image source: 123rf.com © palinchak, image no. 183548319
www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/ukraine-krieg-was-bedeutet-der-konflikt-fuer-den-klimaschutz,SyGd2bS
www.daswetter.com/nachrichten/aktuelles/krieg-umwelt-katastrophe-wetter-klima-ukraine-russland.html
www.de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENMOD-Konvention
www.fr.de/politik/umwelt-ukraine-krieg-russland-natur-oel-atom-versuchte-gebiete-kiew-moskau-selenskyj-putin-91423220.html
www.greenpeace.de/frieden/ukraine-krieg-bedrohliche-lage-dortige-atomkraftwerke
www.greenpeace.de/frieden/krieg-umwelt
www.taz.de/Kriegsschaeden-in-der-Ukraine/!5839848/
www.iwkoeln.de/presse/iw-nachrichten/sarah-fluchs-wie-kriege-die-umwelt-schaedigen.html