Siku ya Kimataifa ya Kuzuia Uharibifu wa Mazingira wakati wa Vita na Migogoro ya Kujiami inatukumbusha kuwa kuna uhusiano wa moja kwa moja kati ya mazingira na migogoro. Kote duniani, takribani asilimia 40 ya migogoro yote ya ndani kwa ndani inahusiana na utafutaji wa malighafi, iwe ni rasilimali iliyo na thamani kubwa kama vile mbao, almasi, dhahabu na mafuta, au rasilimali adimu kama vile ardhi yenye rutuba na maji. Migogoro inayohusiana na malighafi ina uwezekano wa kutokea tena mara dufu.
Ongezeko la joto duniani kutokana na mabadiliko ya tabianchi linatishia kuongeza changamoto na matatizo kwa mazingira. Na mara nyingi, mazingira huathirika kutokana na vita, uhahibifu unaotokea kimakusudi au athari ghasi kwa dhamana, au kwa sababu, wakati wa migogoro, serikali hushindwa kudhibiti na kusimamia malighafi.
Umoja wa Mataifa unatoa kipaumbele kwa mazingira kwa kuhakikisha yanajumuishwa kama sehemu ya kuzuia migogoro, na kujumuishwa katika juhudi za amani na mikakati ya kudumisha amani, kwa sababu hatuwezi kuwa na amani ya kudumu iwapo malighafi na mifumo ya ekolojia tunayotegemea kuishi itaharibiwa.
Rising temperatures due to climate change now threaten to further amplify environmental stresses and tensions. And, all too often, the environment is among the casualties of war, through deliberate acts of destruction or collateral damage, or because, during conflicts, governments fail to control and manage natural resources.
The United Nations attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies, because there can be no durable peace if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed.
