Abstract
Cold War opened a new chapter in world security attitudes and necessitated a rethinking of the concept of "threat and security." This review has led to the emergence and growth of approaches to international security that emphasize the multidimensional nature of security and the factors that shape and threaten it. In the new paradigm and military and hardware variables, political, economic, socio-cultural, and environmental components are considered factors that can act as a threat to international security. Climate change is one of the most important and complex international challenges in the age of globalization. These small changes in global warming could pose a potential risk to global climate change. Our lives today depend on climate change. In the international arena, the effects of these threats are gradually observed in the relations between the countries. The Darfur War, for example, can be considered the first conflict in the field of climate change.
TopIntroduction
the concern of the international community for the damage to the environment that derives from human activities and the need for an international response to certain environmental problems and the deterioration of the global ecosystem has prompted the emergence and progressive consolidation of a set of international standards, fundamentally of a conventional nature, for the prevention and repair of damage to the environment (Schmitt, 1997).
This concern for the protection of the natural environment against all kinds of human activity also extends to the impact of armed conflicts on that environment, since they can cause some of the most devastating aggressions against the environment. This concern about their preservation in times of war raises many important questions about the application and interpretation of the rules of international environmental law in that case. In particular, one of the most relevant questions, with a view to guaranteeing effective environmental protection, is the question of to what extent the norms of international environmental law remain in force in the event of an armed conflict, since the outbreak of hostilities between States inevitably has repercussions on the applicability of the international norms that bind said subjects. The issue of the applicability of environmental regulations in these circumstances is complex and for many decades we have lacked solid reference criteria. In the words of the United Nations International Law Commission (hereinafter ILC), environmental treaties present a controversial, varied or incipient probability of applicability during an armed conflict, among other reasons because most treaties relating to the environment do not include provisions referring to their applicability in the event of an armed conflict and because these treaties are extremely diverse from the perspective of their objectives, matters and mechanisms. State practice is inconsistent and divided and there is no clear ruling by an international court in this regard; although as far as the doctrine is concerned, the most widespread position is that which maintains that treaties on the environment would be applicable in the event of an international armed conflict. The issue has been the subject of the work of the IDC, favorable to the continuity of environmental treaties in that case, and their proposals have resolved an important gap, providing relative certainty to the issue. And all this, without prejudice to the full validity in time of war of the norms on environmental protection enshrined in International Humanitarian Law, which includes a series of restrictions on environmental destruction, limiting the means and methods of combat and imposing belligerents that take into account the environmental impact of their operations (Bothe et al., 2010).
The purpose of this work is the study of the applicability of international environmental law in times of international armed conflict. The topic is particularly controversial and current. In fact, in terms of the effects of armed conflicts on treaties, environmental agreements constitute the category of treaties that has received the most attention in recent decades and has generated the most debate; and this is so because of the significant increase in the sensitivity of the international community and civil societies in environmental matters and the verification of the devastating damage to the natural environment of certain armed conflicts.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Sustainable Development: Defined by the United Nations Environment Programme as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” sustainable development may be considered together with the concepts of “integration” (development cannot be considered in isolation from sustainability) and “interdependence” (social and economic development, and environmental protection, are interdependent). Laws mandating environmental impact assessment and requiring or encouraging development to minimize environmental impacts may be assessed against this principle. The modern concept of sustainable development was discussed at the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) and the driving force behind the 1983 World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, or Bruntland Commission). In 1992, the first UN Earth Summit resulted in the Rio Declaration, Principle 3 of which reads: “The right to development must be fulfilled to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.” Sustainable development has been a core concept of international environmental discussion ever since, including at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit 2002 AU67: The in-text citation "Earth Summit 2002" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ) and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit 2012 AU68: The in-text citation "Earth Summit 2012" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. , or Rio+20).
Precautionary Principle: One of the most commonly encountered and controversial principles of environmental law, the Rio Declaration formulated the precautionary principle as follows, to protect the environment, States shall widely apply the precautionary approach according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation. The principle may play a role in any debate over the need for environmental regulation.
Environmental Law: Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that protect the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focuses on managing specific natural resources, such as forests, minerals, or fisheries. Other areas, such as environmental impact assessment, may not fit neatly into either category but are nonetheless important components of environmental law. Previous research found that when environmental law reflects moral values for betterment, legal adoption is more likely to be successful, usually in well-developed regions. In less-developed states, changes in moral values are necessary for successful legal implementation when environmental law differs from moral values.
Polluter Pays Principle: The polluter pays principle stands for the idea that “the environmental costs of economic activities, including the cost of preventing potential harm, should be internalized rather than imposed upon society at large.” All issues related to responsibility for cost for environmental remediation and compliance with pollution control regulations involve this principle.
Equity: Defined by UNEP to include intergenerational equity—“the right of future generations to enjoy a fair level of the common patrimony”—and intragenerational equity—“the right of all people within the current generation to fair access to the current generation’s entitlement to the Earth’s natural resources”—environmental equity considers the present generation under an obligation to account for long-term impacts of activities and to act to sustain the global environment and resource base for future generations. Pollution control and resource management laws may be assessed against this principle.
Prevention: The concept of prevention etc. can perhaps better be considered an overarching aim that gives rise to a multitude of legal mechanisms, including prior assessment of environmental harm, licensing, or authorization that set out the conditions for operation and the consequences for violation of the conditions, as well as the adoption of strategies and policies. Emission limits and other product or process standards, the use of best available techniques, and similar techniques can all be seen as applications of the concept of prevention.
Transboundary Responsibility: Defined in the international law context as an obligation to protect one’s environment. UNEP considers transboundary responsibility at the international level to prevent damage to neighboring environments at the international level as a potential limitation on the rights of the sovereign state. Laws that limit externalities imposed upon human health and the environment may be assessed against this principle.
Public Participation and Transparency: Identified as essential conditions for “accountable governments...industrial concerns,” and organizations generally, public participation and transparency are presented by UNEP as requiring “effective protection of the human right to hold and express opinions and to seek, receive and impart ideas, etc. a right of access to appropriate, comprehensible and timely information held by governments and industrial concerns on economic and social policies regarding the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment, without imposing undue financial burdens upon the applicants and with adequate protection of privacy and business confidentiality,” and “effective judicial and administrative proceedings.” These principles are present in environmental impact assessment, laws requiring publication and access to relevant environmental data, and administrative procedures.