This book analyses the issues surrounding the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict, and to pose questions as to its adequacy and efficacy. But the focus is not simply upon the interpretation of the legal provisions in isolation; instead, the analysis establishes a benchmark standard of environmental harm against which the adequacy and efficacy of the legal provisions can be measured.

In the recent past the horrors of war have been demonstrated all too vividly. Who would have believed that after Nuremberg there would be any further need for war crimes tribunals, or for the creation of an international criminal court? But, whilst people in conflict countries suffer the mental and physical scars from military bombardment, they also suffer the silent legacy of environmental pollution. The world functions as one large ecosystem: the contamination of one element inevitably feeding into another. Pollution in peacetime has been greatly reduced, but what is the wartime cost to the environment? Wartime weaponry and tactics are strictly controlled by the principles of humanitarian law, but international law can be a slow creature. Are our militaries using weapons today that violate the current laws of armed conflict? Or need new controls be drafted to deal with the environmental, and inevitably human, consequences of modern warfare? The book seeks to analyse the issues surrounding the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict, and to pose questions as to its adequacy and efficacy. But the focus is not simply upon the interpretation of the legal provisions in isolation; instead, the analysis establishes a benchmark standard of environmental harm against which the adequacy and efficacy of the legal provisions can be measured. At the centre of the analysis are a number of case studies tackling the most modern weapons and tactics, including the legality of depleted uranium weapons and cluster bombs, the validity of striking chemical weapons facilities and oil installations, and the responsibility for explosive and non-explosive war debris.

This timely study examines how the environmental impact of modern warfare violates fundamental principles of international environmental and humanitarian laws and why these consideration need to be included in rules of armed conflict. If direct attacks on innocent civilians are universally recognized as unacceptable then environ-mental devastation of their habitat by acts of war must also be recognized as an unacceptable consequence of armed conflict. The author presents the case that the international community understand its responsibility to curb environ-mental consequences of modern weaponry and incorporate environmental concerns into the conventions regulating armed conflict. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

The environment suffers enormously during armed conflicts and, despite the increasing awareness of the pressing need to protect the planet, devastating environmental damage can occur legally at times of war. This book suggests that – apart from the protection offered under law of armed conflict – environmental treaties or multilateral agreements (MEAs) can complement and strengthen environmental protection when war occurs. Previous research has focused on the protection offered under the law of armed conflict (in particular international humanitarian law) and customary international environmental law concerning wartime environmental damage, or whether environmental treaties remain applicable at times of armed conflict. This book, however, is the first in-depth scholarly examination of how environmental treaties can apply in wartime and how they can contribute to the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict. It also offers an updated study of environmental protection under the law of armed conflict, including the latest developments in the International Law Commission's work on this underexplored topic.

In 1996, the International Court of Justice delivered an Advisory Opinion on the legality of the use of nuclear weapons in which the Court stated that "while the existing international law relating to the protection and safeguarding of the environment does not specifically prohibit the use of nuclear weapons it indicates important environmental factors that are properly to be taken into account in the context of the implementation of the principles and rules of the law applicable in armed conflict." The present work analyses this conclusion, focusing on the question whether or not the use of nuclear weapons during international armed conflict would violate existing norms of public international law relating to the protection and safeguarding of the environment. Although the use of weaponry during armed conflict is usually related to the protection of individuals, the rapidly emerging appreciation of, and the worldwide realization of the intrinsic value of, the natural environment as an indispensable asset for the continuation of life, including human life, on this planet, both for present and future generations, warrants a thorough and extensive examination of the question of the (il)legality of the employment of nuclear weapons from the point of view of international environmental protection law. The book consists of two parts. Part I discusses the historical development and the effects of nuclear weapons; Part II discusses the protection of the environment during international armed conflict under ius in bello, ius ad bellum and ius pacis. Only then is it possible to assess the legality of the use of nuclear weapons under this particular set of rules.

The book addresses the question of whether the currently available instruments of international environmental and international humanitarian law are applicable to climate conflicts. It clarifies the different pathways leading from climate change to conflict and offers an analysis of international environmental law embedded within the international doctrine of state responsibility. It goes on to discuss whether climate change amounts to an issue covered by Art. 2.4 UN Charter – the prohibition of the use of force. It then considers the possible application of international humanitarian law to climate conflicts. The book also offers a definition of the term “climate conflict”, drawing on legal as well as peace and conflict studies.

The connection between ecology and conflict has been the object of extensive study by political scientists and economists. From the contribution of natural resource 'scarcity' to violent unrest and armed conflict; to resource 'abundance' as an incentive for initiating and prolonging armed struggles; to dysfunctional resource management and environmental degradation as obstacles to peacebuilding, this literature has exerted a huge influence upon academic discussions and policy developments. While international law is often invoked as the solution to the socio-environmental challenges faced by conflict-affected countries, its relationship with the ecology of war and peace remains undertheorised. Drawing upon environmental justice perspectives and other theoretical traditions, the book unpacks and problematizes some of the assumptions that underlie the legal field. Through an analysis of the practice of international courts, the UN Security Council, and Truth Commissions, it shows how international law silences and even normalizes forms of structural and slow environmental violence.