The natural environment under IHL is considered to constitute the natural world together with the system of inextricable interrelations between living organisms and their inanimate environment, in the widest sense possible. It includes everything that exists or occurs naturally, such as the general hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and atmosphere, as well as natural elements that are or may be the product of human intervention, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas, drinking water and livestock. The natural environment is protected by general IHL rules, including those governing the conduct of hostilities, inter alia by the prohibition to target civilian objects, by the proportionality rule protecting civilian objects against incidental effects of attacks and the obligation to take feasible precautions for the benefit of civilian objects. IHL also contains rules that specifically protect the natural environment as such, including the prohibition to use methods or means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment. Attacks against the natural environment by way of reprisals are also prohibited.
OUTLINE
LEGAL SOURCES
DOCUMENTs
ICRC, International humanitarian law and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts in 2015 (Para. 296)
CASES
- Romania, Voluntary Report
- Iraq, IHL and Environmental Protection
- The Environment and IHL
- Senegal, Exploitation of Natural Resources
- ICRC’s Approach to Contemporary Security Challenges
- ICRC, The Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts
- ICJ, Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinion (Paras. 30 and 33)
- Israel/Lebanon/Hezbollah, Conflict in 2006 (Part I, paras 209-220)
- Iran/Iraq, UN Security Council Assessing Violations of International Humanitarian Law
- United States, Status and Treatment of Detainees Held in Guantanamo Naval Base
- United States, The September 11 2001 Attacks
- Iran, Victim of Cyber warfare
- Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory, Occupation and Natural Resources
- Colombia, Special Jurisdiction for Peace, Crimes against the Environment in Cauca
BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESOURCES
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PAYNE, Cymie, “Protection of the natural environment”, in SAUL Ben and AKANDE Dapo (eds.), The Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2020, pp. 205–234. PETERSON Ines, “The Natural Environment in Times of Armed Conflict: a Concern for International War Crimes Law?”, in LeidenJournal of International Law, Vol. 22, Issue 2, 2009, pp. 325-343. PLANT Glen, “Environmental Damage and the Laws of War: Points Addressed to Military Lawyers”, in FOX Hazel & MEYER Michael A. (eds), Armed Conflict and the New Law, Volume II – Effecting Compliance, 1993, pp. 159-174. REICHBERG Gregory & SYSE Henrik, “Protecting the Natural Environment in Wartime: Ethical Considerations from the Just War Tradition”, in Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 37/4, 2000, pp. 449-468. RICHARDS Peter J., “Mars Meets Mother Nature: Protecting the Environment during Armed Conflict”, in Stetson Law Review, Vol. 28/4, 1999, pp. 1047-1090. ROBERTS Adam, “Environmental Destruction in the Gulf War”, in IRRC, No. 291, November-December 1992, pp. 538-553. ROBERTS Adam, “Failures in Protecting the Environment in the 1990-91 Gulf War”, in ROWE Peter (ed.), The Gulf War 1990-91 in International and English Law, London, Sweet & Maxwell, 1993, pp. 111-154. SCHMITT Michael N., “The Environmental Law of War: An Invitation to Critical Re-examination”, in Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 6, 1995-96, pp. 237-271. SHARP Peter, “Prospects for Environmental Liability in the International Criminal Court”, in Virginia Environmental Law Journal, Vol. 18/2, 1999, pp. 217-243. SCHWABACH Aaron, “Environmental Damage Resulting from the NATO Military Action against Yugoslavia”, in ColumbiaJournal of Environmental Law, Vol. 25/1, 2000, pp. 117-140.
SMITH, Tara, “Critical perspectives on environmental protection in non-international armed conflict: Developing the principles of distinction, proportionality and necessity”, in Leiden Journal of International Law, Vol. 32, 2019, p. 759-779. STAHN Carsten, IVERSON Jens & EASTERDAY Jennifer S. (eds.), Environmental protection and transitions from conflict to peace, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017. THOMAS, Carson, “Advancing the legal protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict: Protocol I’s threshold of impermissible environmental damage and alternatives”, in Nordic Journal of International Law, Vol. 82, No. 1, 2013, pp. 83–101. VAN DER VYVER Johan D., “The Environment: State Sovereignty, Human Rights, and Armed Conflict”, in Emory International Law Review, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2009, pp. 85-112. YORK Christopher, “International Law and the Collateral Effects of War on the Environment: The Persian Gulf”, in South Africa Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 7, 1991, pp. 269-290. YUZON E.F.J., “Deliberate Environmental Modification Through the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons: Greening the International Laws of Armed Conflict to Establish an Environmentally Protective Regime”, in American University Journal of International Law and Policy, Vol. 11, 1996, pp. 793-846. “Guidelines for Military Manuals and Instructions on the Protection of the Environment in Times of Armed Conflict”, in IRRC, No. 311, March-April 1996, pp. 230-237.