Effects Of The Syrian Civil War On The Environment
Wars have been a dominate force on this earth ever since the beginning of time. And the effects of the every growing technology on the environment has become duly noted as wars continue to thunder on. The Syrian Civil War that has been going on for 7 years and is still raging on at this time, is just one example of what wars can do to this beautiful planet we call earth. Three examples of effects the Syrian War has had on the environment are: The huge oil fires, because of the amount of oil in Syria, the toxicity of weapons, and the large amount of vegetation loss.
One of the major impacts of the Syrian war on the environment is the damage due to oil production. In the past oil production was a huge part of the Syrian economy, but now it has been damaging to everyone and everything in Syria. Since the war started in 2011, the ISIS have taken control over the oil refineries in Syria. This has been the ISIS’ huge funding plan, because now they sell the oil on the black market to fund their terrorist group. But because of their control over this the Syrian government and America, along with its allies, have recognized the danger in the ISIS group gaining control of this ‘black gold’.
So as of September 2014, America has begun blowing up the oil refineries in order to try and stop the ISIS’ main source of funding. Because of the oil being blown up, it is being released into the air. And oil is extremely dangerous when released into the air because it releases many hazardous substances. Some examples are, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide etc. And these substances have the tendency to have long-term effects, such as “respiratory disorders, liver problems, kidney disorders, and cancer”. These attacks on the oil refineries have led to mass amounts of air pollution from the fires, which then contaminates soil, surface water, and groundwater. When the talks of attacking these oil refineries controlled by the ISIS it was proven that the environmental damage wasn’t a concern compared to the war aspect of these airstrikes. A reporter asked Rear Admiral Kirby of the environmental risk and it is reported that he replied saying “I’m not an environmental expert. I can’t dispel the fact that in some of these targets there may still be some fires burning as a result of what was hit. Again we’re working our way through the analysis right now…” (Wim Zwijnenburg).
The amount of pollution and contamination caused by these oil fires is yet to be determined, but many people are rallying to get detailed studies on the amounts. It was also reported by the Local Coordination Committee of Syria (LLC) that there have been several cases of suffocation as a result of the smoke caused by these oil fires. So these fires have not only effected the environment they have also effected the people in Syria in a desperate way.
Another environmental issue in Syria created because of the length of the war, is the effect of the toxicity of weapons. These effects take a toll on both the environments and the people around where these weapons are being used. Amongst many of the civil society organizations there has been a growing awareness to the use of weapons and pollution. A project on the effect of weapons on the environment was founded in 2012, called the Toxic Remnants of War Project. Increasing research and studies have been working in relation to the use of toxic weapons and their effect on the environment and human health. Throughout these studies it has been shown that uranium is one of the biggest factors, from weapons, that has been associated with pollution caused by conflict. The toxic remnants of war (TRW) has been defined as: “any toxic or radiological substance resulting from conflict or military activities that forms a hazard to humans and ecosystems”. These effects can be both indirect and direct to the environment and the people around where these toxic weapons are being used.
According to the PAX report examples of indirect effects of the toxicity of weapon use is the weakened states of authority around where weapons are being used, therefore leading to a reduced amount of waste collection or water treatment, which can then effect the people living in these areas. An example, of direct effects, also according to the PAX report are things like munitions residues, highly toxic rocket propellants, and energetic materials that make up explosives, such as things like RDX, PBX, and TNT. These direct examples, effect the environment in the way that the explosion produces a fireball, which then produces shockwaves and intense radiation. This than leads to a cloud of vaporized debris which then spreads the radioactive particles around, which then falls to the earth contaminating the soil, water, food supply, and also the air. And once that is contaminated it can lead directly to creating problems for people living around these explosions as the pollution is so bad it leads to different diseases and respiratory problems.
The final effect that the Syrian war has had on the environment is the vegetation loss. Because of brutality of the Syrian Civil War that has raged on for the past 7 years and continues to this day, this has caused a lack of use of the area’s natural resources. And also it has led to the vegetation degradation and soil erosion. There are many reason why this vegetation loss has become one of the greatest environmental impacts of the Syrian Civil War. According to Wikipedia, there are 3 very key reasons for this. One is that because a majority of the fighting has taken place in the fossil fuel areas, this leads to the shortage of electricity for all of Syria. The second reason is that because many people have been displaced out of their homes urban areas have seen a huge expansion which then leads to the vegetation areas being encroached upon and destroyed to make room for these large amounts of people.
And the third and final reason is because of the lack of electricity fires have been started to try and create wood charcoal, for the citizens to keep themselves warm and make food for themselves to survive on. Then this leads to the destruction of natural vegetation, adding to the terrific loss of vegetation globally. And as mentioned above in the first paragraph the attacks on the oil refineries has become another factor leading the mass amount of vegetation loss as the fires are clearing it out, or it is being contaminated by the hazardous substances put into the air by these fires.
Until we all understand that the only way to live together on this earth in peace is love, wars will continue to rage on. And we as a generation are beginning to see the danger that these wars put out environment into. Until we work through our technology to make it as green as possible, places wherever wars may be fought will experiences these horrific effects to the environment around them, as Syria has. The hazardous air contamination because of oil fires, the toxicity of weapons, and the large amounts of vegetation loss aren’t going to be less in any other country where a war may be fought.
