The Laws of War, the Geneva Convention and Protecting the Environment

While many of our readers are well aware of global environmental laws that are specifically written to protect the environment, such as the Kyoto Protocol, the International Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Law of the Sea and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), this post would like to explore what some of the laws of war and humanitarianism (the Geneva Convention being the most famous) hold for protecting the environment.

Some of the principles encompassed in the Geneva Convention include:

• The prohibition of unlimited warfare;
• That military planners must avoid political and economic targets and focus on military objectives solely;
• Incidental damage incurred by civilians and non-military installations must not be excessive in comparison to the military advantage gained in the attack;
• Avoiding the wanton destruction of property (i.e. destroying non-military property without justification); and
• A general prohibition of destroying objects indispensable to the civilian population (for example, water supplies).

When additional protocols to the Geneva Convention were adopted, further articles were enshrined that were designed to protect the environment. Article 35(3) specifies that

It is prohibited to employ methods or means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.

Article 55 prohibits reprisals against the natural environment and enshrines a duty of care on warring parties.

Another convention related to the Geneva Convention, the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD) specifically prohibits activities that have the potential to modify the environment:

Article I

Each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to engage in military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects as the means of destruction, damage or injury to any other State Party.

While this convention addresses military and hostile uses of environmental modification techniques, it does not prohibit the use of environmental modification techniques for non-military purposes (for example, geo-engineering and other proposed climate modification techniques that are being proposed within the context of climate change).

The protocols of the Geneva Convention and ENMOD provide a theoretically solid legal foundation for protecting the environment during warfare and conflict situations. The challenge that remains is how to ensure that these rules are implemented, respected and enforced by participants and observers throughout the conflict cycle.

Image: Roberto Rizzarto at Flickr under Creative Commons License.

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