Strengthening Environmental Accountability and Recovery through Conflict-monitoring

For a long time, the environment has been often considered an invisible victim of armed conflict. As a consequence, the many impacts of wars have gone unnoticed and failed to be address in post-conflict reconstruction. Rapid technological developments over the last decade have provided researchers and conflict-affected communities with new means to document environmental destruction. This has spurred policy development, strengthening of legal protection and improved awareness on the environmental impacts of conflict. Through showcases from recent conflict in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, connecting this with discussion in various UN forums, the lecture will outline the success and challenges of these applications and highlight some obstacles and opportunities for further development of this approach. Wim Zwijnenburg is the Environment, Peace and Security Project Lead at PAX, and has been working on the the environmental dimensions of armed conflicts since 2009. He developed a methodology using open-source information and earth observation to identify and monitor the impacts of wars and armed conflicts on ecosystems people depend on. Has published extensively on impacts of the wars Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Yemen and other conflicts areas. Through advocacy and awareness raising, the research has been driving policy development within the humanitarian community, various UN forums, including the UN Security Council and UN Environment Assembly. For his work he has the received the UNEP/UNOCH Green Star Award in 2017 and the Environmental Law Institute and UNEP Al Moumin Award in 2023.