On the International Day for the Prevention of Exploitation of the Environment in War, experts highlight the lasting damage
to the environment and the urgent need for scientific intervention in war-torn regions, from Sudan to Gaza and Ukraine.
In the midst of global upheaval,
scientists are dealing with the damage to an often-overlooked environment –
the environment, which may remain scarred long after peace has been restored.
“The environment is often the silent victim of war,” explains Atila Uras, Count
ry Program Manager for the UN Environment Program (UNEP) in Sudan, who is working on the organization’s response to the environmental impacts of the country’s civil war.
“The environment is deeply connected to human life. It’s about making a living. I
t is about public health. It’s about access to clean air and water, sustainability of food systems,” said Uras. ”
It’s about securing a safe future for nations, their citizens – and their neighbors, because often
the impacts of war on the environment don’t stay within national borders,” he added.
Sudan
At least 20,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Sudan since April 2023,
according to the UN ; A recent study by public health researchers suggests that the true
number may be more than 62,000.At least 11 million people have been displaced,
according to the Inter accurate mobile phone number list national Organization for Migration (IOM), while 14 million are facing severe hunger, the World Food Program reports.
Sudanese scientists
Told the ISC about the painful chatbots for lead generation increase customer engagement journey to find safety , and their struggle to keep their work going and maintain irreplaceable scientific and educational infrastructure .
The conflict has had a negative impact on the country’s environment.
“The ongoing conflict in Sudan has not only disrupted lives, but has also damaged the environment,
leaving communities highly vulnerable to resource shortages, deforestation line data and water pollution,” explained Mouna Zein, UNEP Sudan program analyst.
“It is in these
fragile times that monitoring and understanding the environment is very important,
” said Zein, who spoke at the September launch of a joint project led by the Mutasim Nimir
Center for Environmental Culture (MNCEC) in Khartoum. ) with UNESCO, UNEP and IOM, which aimed to monitor the effects of the war in Sudan.
To get a better
picture of how the war has affected the environment, MNCEC brought together
researchers from all four states in Sudan. Focusing on the period from April to
September 2023, they looked at the direct effects of combat – including damage
caused by explosions, toxic chemicals from weapons and chemicals from destroyed
infrastructure – as well as the secondary effects of the conflict through displacement. of millions of people.
The researchers
were able to carry out this research despite the high insecurity, unreliable communication and limited resources to carry out the dangerous work, explained Wifag Hassan Mahmoud, who led the working groups of the project. Even in Khartoum, where it was too dangerous to take direct measurements, researchers were still able to combine qualitative tests with first-hand evidence, Hassan Mahmoud said.
The results
provide a detailed map of the extent and type of environmental damage the country has experienced. In September 2023, in Khartoum province alone, waste exceeded half a million tons – most of it contaminated with asbestos and toxic substances.