PURPOSE: The United Nations General Assembly by the Resolution A/RES/56/4 declared 6 November as International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. It is estimated that nearly 1.5 Billion people, which is estimated 20% of the World Population living in conflict affected areas and fragile states. These areas include Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Colombia led to extreme loss of natural resources. In Afghanistan deforestation is at peak as 95% forest is vanished in some areas. In 2017, toxic chemical clouds were observed in the Mousal city instate of Iraq which affected the landscape and people. major hotspots of biodiversity was found removed in Colombia and Congo which have provided space for refugees and other extremist groups. Due to the conflicting zones, it has caused illegal logging, massive poaching, and breeding grounds for invasive species and also unregulated mining. In Congo, the population of elephants have been distributed. In Yemen and Gaza, water infrastructure including pump stations groundwater usage network and desalinations plant have badly damaged due to horrors of wars and causing environmental and public health risks. The United Nations attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies, because there can be no durable peace if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed.
FORUM: “Protecting the environment is essential to preserving peace.’’ International Day for preventing the protection of the environment in war and conflicts 2023. The international community need to act urgently and actively to address the isues of environmental degradation during armed conflicts, if these issues are ignored, we all have to face severe consequences not for ourselves but also for upcoming generations. For the implementation of agenda 2030 Sustainable Development we need to integrate natural resources and environmental issues into planning and conflict assessment. There is dire need to place a mechanism for collecting, monitoring and sharing information of the potential environmental impacts and protect natural resources in armed conflicts. it is needed to show commitment towards protection of our planet from devastating effects of war and in the times when the planet is warming up. Protecting the Natural environment is integral to Conflicts prevention, peacebuilding and sustainable development.. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #EnvironmentalProtection, #EnvironmentconflictDay, #6november.
EVENTS: The UNEP, the UNDP, the UN-HABITAT, the PBSO, the DPA and the UNDESA willl organize a webinar to observe International Day for preventing the protection of the environment in war and conflicts 2023 on November 6th at United Nations Heaquarters in New york. the topics of the discussions will showcase how to use all of the tools at our disposal, from dialogue and mediation to preventive diplomacy, to keep the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources from fueling and financing armed conflict and destabilizing the fragile foundations of peace.
STATEMENTS: Read the Secretary-General of the United Nations message on International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict 2023; November 6th.
PODCASTS: How to help countries identify, prevent and transform tensions over natural resource as part of conflict prevention and peacebuilding programmes. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: We need to act boldly and urgently to reduce the risks that environmental degradation and climate change present for conflict and commit to protect our planet from the debilitating effects of war. Get the communication materials!
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
HOW TO GET INVOLVED?
PARTNERSHIPS
The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Spider, the UNEP Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding Programme, the Environmental Emergencies Centre, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), and the UN International Law Commission: Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts.
With the participation of Civil Society Organizations, International and Non-Governmental organizations, the Public and Private sectors, National Armed forces, Ministry of Defence, Environmentalists, Philantropists, Activists, Environmental researchers and academia.
Reduce environmental damages during armed conflicts
Prevent disputes from escalating into war.
Help restore peace following the outbreak of armed conflict.
Promote lasting peace in societies emerging from wars.
Improve the understanding of the complex relationship between women and natural resources in conflict-affected settings.
Make the case for pursuing gender equality, women’s empowerment and sustainable natural resource management together in support of peacebuilding
Develop activities to restore ecosystem and prevent environmental degration
On 5 November 2001, the United Nations General Assembly declared 6 November of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict (A/RES/56/4).
Saving future generations from the scourge of war was the main motivation for creating the United Nations, whose founders lived through the devastation of two world wars. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.