Hideki Yoshikawa, Okinawa Environmental Justice Project & Masami Mel Kawamura, The Informed-Public Project
The COP16 slogan “Peace with Nature” holds signifi-cant meanings in areas affected by war, armed conflict, and militarization. They destroy biodiversity and ecosystems, create pollution, and exacerbate climate change under the pretext of ensuring national interests and security. In many of these areas, these destructive forces are closely linked to systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples and local communities, leading to serious human rights violations. Thus, to make “peace with nature,” we need a global mecha-nism to assess, prevent, and mitigate their environmental impacts. We must also address and overcome the political and social dimensions allowing such
environmental destruction. We hope CBD can take a leading role in this endeavor.
As civil society organizations based in Okinawa, Japan - a region that has experienced devastating wartime events in the past and currently faces extensive milita-rization - we would like to emphasize two critical points. First, the immense destruction and lasting impacts of war and armed conflict on both people and the environment, along with the significant energy
expenditure they demand, have prompted experts to study these effects (for example, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the Gulf War of the 1990s). However, such research efforts have been limited and have
encountered numerous obstacles.
The secretive nature of war, armed conflicts, and the military has made it difficult to conduct comprehensive studies (e.g., the U.S. military has not released information on its carbon footprint). Our focus on the impacts of war and armed conflicts, primarily regarding human casualties and land-based assessment, has also contributed to this gap in research. Since such studies
require scientific rigor and on-the-ground research and are a relatively recent phenomenon, many regions worldwide have not seen such studies conducted.
In Okinawa, people often refer to studies that report 240,000 human lives lost and the destruction of hundreds of houses and farm fields during World War II. However, there are no quantified comprehensive stu-dies on the environmental impacts of the war, particularly concerning the marine environment and species. The time that has passed since makes it challenging to conduct such studies. Nevertheless, it is essential to understand Okinawa's environment before the war to make “peace with nature.”
Secondly, many governments conduct studies on the environmental impacts of militarization (or preparations for war and armed conflict through building facilities, producing and deploying weaponry, and training in specific locations). However, these studies are often used to justify militarization rather than to protect the environment. Therefore, it is essential to question the validity of such studies.
In Okinawa, the Japanese government is constructing an air base for the US military at Henoko-Oura Bay through a landfill. This area is known for its rich bio-
diversity, hosting 5,300 species, including 262 endangered species within 30 square kilometers. The US military also conducts training, such as low-altitude flight exercises, in the Yambaru Forest, located in northern Okinawa Island. A portion of this forest is a UNESCO World Natura Heritage site inscribed for its rich biodiversity in 2021. Additionally, at the WNH site, there is a considerable but unknown amount of mili-tary waste left by the US military. Base construction and military training continue, and much of the military waste remains unaddressed. The Japanese government maintains that “there is no adverse environmental impact” from the construction project or the military training, asserting that “its mitigation measures are effective” in its Environmental Impact Assessment and monitoring surveys.
Local experts and NGOs have criticized the Japanese government's greenwash approach to conducting studies and raised concerns about the validity of its conclusions. International organizations like IUCN and indigenous communities have echoed these concerns. However, the government's political power has suppressed criticism and inquiries. Additionally, because the government has exclusive access to the affected areas, NGOs and even local governments have been unable to conduct independent counter-studies.
The environmental impacts of war, armed conflict, and militarization are significant and devastating, and indigenous peoples and local communities with less poli-tical power are often placed muted on the receiving ends of such impacts. However, national governments and international institutions appear reluctant to address these issues as they are regarded as unavoidable consequences of ensuring national interest and security. This needs to change. We must address and connect these environmental issues and their social and political dimensions to peace and justice initiatives. It is important to remember that, similar to climate change, environmental concerns can unify nations, regions, and peoples rather than divide them.
We urge the CBD to develop a mechanism for asses-sing, avoiding, and mitigating the impacts of war, armed conflict, and militarization on biodiversity and ecosystems as it works towards its 30 by 30 goals. It is essential to incorporate “peace” into our efforts to make “peace with nature.”