Safeguarding our natural resources in the post-war environment

Sri Lanka has come a long way since the end of  armed conflict. Even though reconciliation is an immediate goal in the aftermath of a war, successive governments have taken snail-paced efforts to achieve this goal. But apart from dead and injured civilians and soldiers who are often publicised as victims of  war, destroyed cities, livelihoods and the environment remains unpublicised victims of war. 

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) over the last 60 years, at least 40 percent of all internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of natural resources, whether high-value resources such as timber, diamonds, gold and oil, or scarce resources such as fertile land and water. Conflicts involving natural resources have also been found to be twice as likely to relapse.

In the short term, conflict disrupts food supply chains, displaces farming communities, and damages natural systems essential for livelihoods. This leads to food shortages, market shocks, and humanitarian need. 

This is why the UN General Assembly declared November 6 of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict since November 5, 2001. The Day recognises that there can be no durable peace if natural resources that sustain ecosystems and livelihoods are destroyed.

On this occasion, the UN Secretary-General emphasised that sustainable development depends on reducing the environmental and climate risks associated with conflict. Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, stated that climate change will significantly weaken agricultural productivity and human well-being across the globe, with some of the greatest risks concentrated in countries least able to adapt.

In the North of Sri Lanka, places such as Muhamalai are still contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war. Landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) left large swathes of land contaminated, posing ongoing dangers to human life, livestock, and soil quality, which in turn limits agricultural use and prolongs displacement. Some of the challenges to expedite these activities include seasonal rains, floods and other natural and anthropogenic factors such as sand mining that would shift the distribution of landmines. 

Contamination from landmines and explosive remnants of war can then delay recovery, while environmental degradation – such as deforestation or soil damage – reduces productivity and resilience.

Organisations such as the Halo Trust has continued their efforts to conduct landmine clearance initiatives and redistribute these lands to people to improve their livelihoods. One of their main initiatives in Sri Lanka is mangrove restoration in conflict-affected coastal zones. 

Sri Lanka has experienced unregulated exploitation of natural resources in its post-war scenario. Forests have been cleared for development projects, resettlement, and agriculture, leading to one of the highest rates of primary forest loss globally in the period following the war. Projects for mineral sand extraction and other mining activities, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas like Mannar, have threatened local ecosystems and the livelihoods of fishing and farming communities. On the other hand, increased competition for limited resources has led to the use of illegal and ecologically unsustainable fishing in methods, depleting fish and prawn stocks.

One example of post-war environmental destruction is with regards to the plight of Wilpattu National Park. Apart from unplanned resettlement programmes, successive governments even attempted to open a bus route via a road previously used for military purposes. This is why the governments needs to revisit existing environmental laws and strengthen them, leaving no loopholes for individuals with vested interests to creep through the system and disrupt natural resources of this blessed land. 

Our soldiers won the physical fight to save this land. But it is up to the government to brave the political, geopolitical and diplomatic ground and safeguard this country, it’s soil and natural resources from being exploited.