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UC Law Environmental Journal

Lynn Ma

Abstract

War disrupts the lives of people, governments, and the wider environment. The purpose of this article is to examine how rewilding and ecological planning could be applied to military logistics to enhance peace and security amid war and post-war periods. This is explored through a concept that conservationists have coined “WarWilding.” I will develop my conclusions by analyzing WarWilding case studies from active warfare and post-war zones. To evaluate the boundaries in the ethics of WarWilding, this paper will frame the analyses around provisions in the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD) and the Geneva Conventions.

Specifically, this paper will argue that WarWilding is: (1) ecologically and militarily strategic amid war, and (2) contributes to ecological and civil restoration post-war. It has potential to mitigate amid inherently destructive state activities. This argument will be developed by assessing WarWilding through three prongs: what is permissible WarWilding; when does WarWilding breach international agreements regarding warfare ethics; and what are the policy applications of applying WarWilding in military operations.

Ultimately, this article will assert that WarWilding is permissible when used defensively within the constraints of international regulations but goes too far when used offensively. Defensive WarWilding typically materializes in the form of buffer zones, conflict mitigation, rehabilitation of military zones, and passive rewilding in active war and post-war settings. Offensive WarWilding includes environmental modification for the purposes of depriving life. All in all, military planning and ecological conservation can come together in an interdisciplinary effort to preserve the environment and mitigate destruction during human conflict. However, international protocols require further specification, and more research is needed to clarify what incorporating conservation into warfare logistics practically looks like. As such, WarWilding is a dangerous weapon when used for destruction, but may be a shield when used against conflict.

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