TEHRAN - War and military activities have apparent consequences for the environment. Weapons, troop movements, explosions and the destruction of buildings and forests are just some of the examples of how military operations damage the environment.

Despite the protections provided by several treaties, the environment continues to be a silent victim of armed conflicts around the world.

Following the joint terrorist attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime on Iran in recent days, many civilian targets were attacked. 

Also, the targeting of oil depots in Tehran and Alborz provinces is another case of attack on civilian infrastructure, which, according to international experts, has devastating consequences for the environment and public health in the short and long term.

Public concern about the targeting or abuse of the environment in wartime first reached its peak during the Vietnam War, which is considered the longest war of the 20th century and a military defeat for the United States. 

The war led to the definition of the “Vietnam Syndrome,” which reflects public resentment of American military interventions in foreign countries.

During the Vietnam War, the United States began using Agent Orange, a potent herbicide mixture sprayed on tropical trees so that they would lose their thick canopies of tropical leaves that enemy soldiers used for cover or camouflage.

This agent, continuously sprayed all over South Vietnam, gradually caused extensive damage to the ecosystem.

To describe this situation and the harmful effects caused by such herbicides, biologist Arthur W. Galston coined the term ecocide for the first time at the conference “War Crimes and the American Conscience”, held in Washington in 1970. 

He defined ecocide as the willful and permanent destruction of the environment which is considered as a crime against humanity. 

A step forwards was made in 1978 with the entry into force of the Convention on Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD Convention). 

Each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to engage in military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects as the means of destruction, damage or injury to any other State Party. 

During the 1990–1991 (Persian) Gulf War, the widespread pollution caused by the deliberate destruction of more than 600 oil wells in Kuwait and subsequent claims of $85 billion in environmental damage led to further calls for stronger legal protections for the environment during armed conflicts.

Moreover, dozens of industrial sites were bombed during the Kosovo conflict in 1999, resulting in toxic chemical contamination at several sensitive sites in the region, raising concerns about possible contamination of the Danube River. 

In another example, it is estimated that 12,000 to 15,000 tons of fuel oil was released into the Mediterranean Sea during the 2006 conflict between the Zionist regime and Lebanon.

According to the UN Environment Programme, protecting the environment before, during and after armed conflicts must be given the same level of political importance as protecting human rights. A healthy environment is the foundation upon which peace and many human rights are based.