Civilian protection, environmental pollution and conflict - a role for the public health community

摘要

For the first time in four decades, there is an opportunity to make substantive progress on the protection of the environment, and those who depend on it, during and after conflict. The health and environmental risks from conflict and military pollutants are just one of a number of thematic areas within what is recognized broadly as 'conflict and the environment'. However, it is one which creates a fertile space for multidisciplinary collaboration, covering as it does both environmental assessment and public health. Improved recognition of the short and long-term health and environmental impact of toxic remnants of war could contribute to a more coherent understanding of the costs, implications and acceptability of particular military practices. It could help reinforce the need for environmental mainstreaming in post-conflict response and ultimately in constraining the behaviour of belligerents. Above all, it would help identify and assist those affected and increase accountability for harm.