A Day to Prevent Exploitation of the Environment in War

NEW YORK, New York, November 6, 2008 (ENS) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all nations of the world to prevent the exploitation of the environment in times of conflict.

"The natural environment enjoys protection under Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions," Ban said. "But this protection is often violated during war and armed conflict. Water wells are polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed, all in order to gain military advantage."

The secretary-general's message on the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, which is observed each year on November 6, was issued as he was in the air on his way to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend a UN-backed high-level summit tomorrow aimed at ending an armed conflict that is destroying the environment.

"The United Nations attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of our approach to peace," Ban stressed today. "Protecting the environment can help countries create employment opportunities, promote development and avoid a relapse into armed conflict.

Ban said that the UN is studying the environmental impacts of conflicts around the world, from the Balkans to Afghanistan, from Lebanon to the Sudan.

Lasting peace in war-torn Darfur will depend in part on resolving the underlying competition for water and fertile land, Ban said, adding that there can be no durable peace in Afghanistan if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed.

"We have seen how environmental damage and the collapse of institutions are threatening human health, livelihoods and security," he said. "These risks can also jeopardize fragile peace and development in post-conflict societies."

"Let us renew our commitment to preventing the exploitation of the