New method for environmental monitoring in armed conflict zones: a case study of Syria

Abstract

Today, armed conflict affects some twenty countries, covering an area making up 11% of the surface area of the Earth. Any degradation of nature in these areas represents a harmful depletion of the world's natural heritage. Despite this, environmental issues are neglected during these periods of conflict, considered secondary to the urgency of restoring peace and safeguarding human life. Yet their consequences are potentially severe. In these areas, it is future generations who will suffer the effects of the current devastation for a very long time.In this context, the method developed in this study, named (Geographic Information System) for Environmental Monitoring in Wartime, can be used to calculate a risk indicator for environmental degradation, spatial monitoring and risk management. This will make it possible to identify the main threats to protected areas, catalogue the damage caused to the environment by armed conflicts, and create a dynamic risk map. In this paper, GIS-EMW has been applied to calculate a risk indicator for environmental degradation in Syria.

Identifying the risks of armed conflict impact on the ecosystem

“…The Institute for Economics and Peace indicates that almost one hundred and ninety countries face various internal or external conflicts, which emphasizes the size and prevalence of this phenomenon. Therefore, work [5] emphasizes the importance of taking into account not only the social and economic aspects of conflicts, but also their impact on the environment in order to develop effective strategies to reduce environmental damage due to such events. The impact of armed conflicts on the territory is described using various indices: both natural and social.…”

“…The impact of armed conflicts on the territory is described using various indices: both natural and social. The work [5] analyzed the impact of armed conflicts on the territory using various criteria. The assessment included consideration of the priority of preserving the natural environment, determining the level of risk for the territory as a result of the military conflict, and assessing ecosystem services.…”

The Baatho-Assadist System, a System of Political Instrumentalisation

“…The instrumentalisation of minorities is also mentioned in Taha's works, since the confrontation with the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s, the regime has presented itself as a bulwark against the Islamist threat likely to dominate minorities (Druze, Christians, Kurds, Ismaili) (Taha, 2012b). After the revolution, Assad used these community instruments to prevent minorities from joining in the protests against it, collusion between Islamic groups and the Assad regime emerged, the Assad regime took advantage of Islamist groups and terrorism for its own purposes and with the aim of consolidating its domination over the country, spreading hatred and generating fear and mistrust (Mobaied, 2019). Al Hajj-Saleh, 2003).…”

Legal security of environmental safety under the conditions of marital state in Ukraine

“…At present, the fragmented IHL documents on combating threats to the environment and human security do not have a comprehensive conceptual framework that would include issues related to active confl icts, as noted in [8]. Many approaches have been proposed as a basis for the formation of the IHL system of legal documents, in particular in [9], the time frame of war ecology has been formalized as an "ongoing process of three intersecting stages: preparation, war (armed confl ict) and postwar activities"; in works [10,11] monitoring of environmental damage is defi ned as an instrument of reasoned legal position. In [10], the Geographical Information System for Environmental Monitoring in Wartime, which can be used to calculate the environmental risk indicator and manage it and which is used in our work, is proposed.…”

“…Many approaches have been proposed as a basis for the formation of the IHL system of legal documents, in particular in [9], the time frame of war ecology has been formalized as an "ongoing process of three intersecting stages: preparation, war (armed confl ict) and postwar activities"; in works [10,11] monitoring of environmental damage is defi ned as an instrument of reasoned legal position. In [10], the Geographical Information System for Environmental Monitoring in Wartime, which can be used to calculate the environmental risk indicator and manage it and which is used in our work, is proposed. Research [11] proposed methodological approaches to monitoring three common forms of environmental degradation, which was also used in our study.…”