By Ayesha Malik, Ecological Security Fellow
Introduction
An occupation is a unique form of armed conflict that poses particular challenges to the ecological security of the occupied territory. Often, during an occupation, the territory is in the grips of a hostile authority, which causes substantial environmental damage to ecosystems.1 This can involve excessive natural resource exploitation, scorched earth policies, the destruction of agricultural areas and forests, and the contamination of rivers and wells.2 This briefer will explore the need for occupying powers to adopt a broader conservation-based approach to better protect the environment of occupied territories for the good of occupied peoples, particularly in protracted long-term occupations.
More recently, occupations have become increasingly protracted, lasting far longer than the drafters of the law pertaining to occupation envisaged. In these long-term occupations, it becomes all the more important to balance the rights of the occupied territory and the occupier to ensure the conservation of ecosystems and the preservation of natural and cultural resources.