FORUM: “Protecting the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems is essential for lasting peace.’’ International Day for preventing the protection of the environment in war and conflicts 2024. 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: On November 6th at United Nations Headquarters in New york;The UNEP, the UNDP, the UN-HABITAT, the PBSO, the DPA and the UNDESA will organize a webinar to observe the International Day for preventing the protection of the environment in war and conflicts 2024.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.
Yearly on November 6st, the world observes the International Day for Preventing theExploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. This day serves as a reminder of the devastating impact that war and conflict can have on our environment. The UNGA resolution 56/4 that established this Day in 2001, stresses that damage to the environment in times of armed conflict impairs ecosystems and natural resources long beyond the period of conflict, and often extends beyond the limits of national territories and the present generation. The UNEA resolution 2/15 recognized the role of healthy ecosystems and sustainably managed resources in reducing the risk of armed conflict. More recently, in March 2024, UNEA6 adopted a resolution 6/12 on Environmental assistance and recovery in areas affected by armed conflict:
• highlighted that environmental degradation in situations of armed conflict and post-conflict can have an impact on human health, well-being and livelihoods
• acknowledged that the important role that effective, inclusive and sustainable environmental assistance can play in conflict recovery and sustainable development in areas affected by armed conflict.
In action 10 of the UN Pact for the Future, the states expressed deep concern about rapid environmental degradation and committed to accelerating efforts to restore, protect, conserve and sustainably use the environment. Among other international organizations, IAEA plays an important role in environmental protection, including in promoting radiation safety, environmental remediation, monitoring emissions, treating nuclear waste. War against Ukraine caused large-scale environmental damage resulted in unprecedented pollution, disruption of ecosystems and physical destruction of biological species both on the territory of Ukraine and on the scale of the entire region and the world. Destruction of the environment is prohibited in the international law. Ukraine’s "Peace Formula" attaches great importance to the issue of environmental security as one of the elements of the peace framework. In its point 8 entitled “Ecological safety”, key directions are highlighted on ensuring environmental security and countering the environmental consequences of the war. The side-event also serve as a follow-up discussion to the thematic conference on Environmental Safety, hosted by Finland, co-organized by Germany, Bulgaria and Ukraine in Helsinki on 19 October 2024.
Objectives
- Assess and raise awareness of the environmental damage and its immediate consequences to human health inflicted on Ukraine by the Russian war of aggression. Emphasize its regional and global impact including on climate change and biodiversity conservation.
- Highlight the necessity of appropriate legal assessment of caused environmental damage for the sake of bringing perpetrators to accountability.
- Provide updates on measures undertaken by the Government of Ukraine with the support of international partners to address the environmental recovery and renewal, including land remediation and demining, revival of destroyed forests and nature reserves, creation of new national parks and nature protection zones, rivers, lakes and sea waters purification. Highlight important role of green economy transition.
- Promote global cooperation and international action with the aim of protection of environment in war and armed conflict
Co-sponsors
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN
Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the UN Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN
World Information Transfer Ukrainian Peace Council PAX
"If we are to achieve the SDGs, we need to act boldly and urgently to reduce the risks that environmental degradation and climate change present for conflict and commit to protecting our planet from the debilitating effects of war." António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations message on International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict 2024; November 6th.
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