I humbly appreciate this opportunity to address this congregation at the 10th Annual Environmental Protection Agency’s meeting [Acknowledge any VIP in the audience].
Warfare is a great deterrent to the attainment of sustainable development. How can the future generation meet their need if the needs of the present generation are not assured? [Pause for a few seconds].
Each time war breaks out between nations, the negative impacts are leveled on the natural resources and consequently, on the environment. [Refer to slide for the main triggers of these wars]. It is interesting to note that war has been an integral part of ancient history where it was more of a community enterprise. However, the organization of war has been changing over the years to the point where the navy and the army have now become an important part of any given state. The modern wars have been influenced scientific progress and industrial development. The spread of popular education has now brought in a new age of machine warfare carried out by troops.
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Today, the impact of warfare goes beyond the damage to homes and infrastructure, displacement and human suffering. The modern tactics used by the military cause extensive damage and degradation of the environment. The damage to the environment often goes beyond boarders of the countries affected by this conflict and can threaten the livelihoods of people even after the signing of peace agreements. [Refer to printout for a breakdown of the modern military tactics]. One of the main events that defined the 20th century was the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 that culminated in the Gulf War. The Gulf State of Kuwait was invaded by over 100,000 Iraqi soldiers. The inherent ecocide of the war was amplified when the Iraqi army torched the oil wells in Kuwait.
This type of destruction is just a fraction of the potential damage that the environment is exposed to during war. However, very little is often done to ensure the environment is protected as countries fight to quench their self-interests. [Give an example of the potential damage of Iraqi invasion of Kuwait]. Additionally, millions of unburned oil barrels were also spilled on the ground forming oil lakes that that altered the landscape and negatively impacted on the existing ecosystems in that area. Millions of oil barrels were dumped into the Persian Gulf by the Iraqis and this resulted in substantial changes of the Saudi Arabian coastline. Marine life and sea bird populations were devastated as a result.
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The dumping of oil into the Persian Gulf compromised the physical and biological diversity of the Gulf. A large proportion of the coastline was soaked in the soil. Given that the circulation system of the Gulf is very slow, it means that it will take a number of years before the oil is finally removed by the natural water forces [Refer to handout on ocean currents of the Gulf]. Much of the unburned oil was also spread by the wind in through an oil fog or mist in the form of invisible droplets. [Explain the effects of these invisible droplets on plant and animal life as well as the water sources].
The burning of oil produces carbon dioxide smoke which has detrimental effects on the environment, people and animals. Initial assessment of the environmental damage hinted that this form of ecological terrorism could lead to a catastrophic “nuclear-winter” in the area. Most people would say that these effects are just but exaggerations. Even though this never happened, the environmental effects of oil effects were still severe. [Bring up the satellite images of Kuwait before and after the smoke emission] The vast smoke and soot that was generated from the estimated 3 to 5 barrels of oil that were burning in Kuwait on a daily basis was so large. The sun was reportedly blocked out as a result of this and this resulted in climate changes in the regions. Temperatures dropped by 10 to 20 degrees Celsius in most areas. Scientists estimated that the burning of two million barrels of oil each day could generate a plume of soot and smoke which could cover an area large enough like half of the United States [Move to the white board for simple calculations].
The risk of global warming was also an issue to reckon due to the high smoke that was produced from the burning of oil. Scientists estimated that the constant rising of smoke into the atmosphere could lead to the depletion of the ozone layer. [Outline the effects of ozone layer depletion]. Six days after the fire had started in Kuwait, the smoke had extended from Baghdad across the United Arab Emirates to Iran. Black rain fell in countries far away like Afghanistan, Syria and Turkey [Change to slide showing the satellite image of the other affected countries]. Generally, hundreds of miles of the Kuwait desert were left uninhabitable due to the accumulation of soot and oil lakes from the burning wells. One to two million migratory birds that visited the Gulf each year on their way to the northern breeding grounds and the indigenous birds of the Gulf region died due to exposure to polluted air or oil. The aquatic ecosystems were also disrupted and this greatly interfered with the spawning of fish and shrimp.
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The Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear explosions had detrimental effects on the environment. The uranium bomb dropped on Hiroshima followed by a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki caused massive blasts that caused air pollution from radioactive debris and dust particles flying around, and from fires burning everywhere. Radioactive precipitation caused the death of many plants and animals. [Refer to slides for more of these negative impacts]. The environmental impact in Nagasaki was noticeable within a 1 km radius and in Hiroshima within a 10 km radius.
The United States started a war in Iraq in 2003 and this also culminated in a series of environmental problems. The war resulted in a damage of sanitation structures and sewage treatment systems due to constant power outages. This greatly contributes to the pollution of River Tigris. Two million plastic containers containing uranium were also stolen from a nuclear power plant in Bagdad and the contents dumped in rivers. This had negative effects on the quality of the water. The chemicals could also go down to the water table and result in the pollution of ground water. The movement of the military and their weapons also resulted in land degradation [Give one audience a few seconds to comment].
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The impact of war has always elicited reactions mainly based on the impact that they have on the people. People should also be aware of the fact that these impacts often extend to the environment. The military has always fought these wars by targeting the natural resources of a country. These natural resources combine to form the basic environment. Thus, anything that impacts negatively on these resources, equally affects the environment. The situation in Kuwait was not different. The war on Kuwait by the Iraqi targeted the country’s oil resources and this translated to devastating impacts on the environment. Initially, only one resource was targeted. In the end, several other resources that constitute the natural environment like water and air were also affected. [Thank you]
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References
Environmental Effects of Oil Drilling in Kuwait. (2016). Web1.cnre.vt.edu. Retrieved 29 April 2016, from http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/lsg/3104/Main%20Page-revised/Oil%20Exploitation/Main%20Page/Kuwait-1/Kuwait-Environmental.html
Environmental effects of war. (2016). Lenntech.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016, from http://www.lenntech.com/environmental-effects-war.htm
KUWAIT TED Case. (2016). Www1.american.edu. Retrieved 29 April 2016, from http://www1.american.edu/ted/kuwait.htm
Protecting the Environment During Armed Conflict: An Inventory and Analysis of International Law. (2016). http://www.unep.org. Retrieved 29 April 2016, from http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/int_law.pdf
