The persistent Myanmar Civil War has not only rendered the Bangladesh-Myanmar border vulnerable, endangering countless lives on both sides, but it has also imperiled the natural environment within the rich Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot-one of the most threatened of the Earth’s 36 biodiversity hotspots.
This ongoing conflict has significantly disrupted climate change initiatives in Myanmar and hampered transnational collaborations to protect endangered wildlife. Moreover, it has exacerbated wildlife poaching along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
International Humanitarian Law (IHL), though not binding the conflicting parties in Myanmar to address environmental damage, offers a framework to mitigate ecological degradation during conflicts. Bangladesh, which ratified Protocols to the 1949 Geneva Conventions in 1980, could serve as a regional advocate for its implementation.
War hurts Myanmar-Bangladesh natural environment
Myanmar boasts some of the world's richest natural landscapes.
The ongoing civil war—revamped after the 2021 military coup—-threatens Myanmar’s biodiversity conservation programmes while facilitating illegal logging on a massive scale. Climate change has exacerbated these effects, causing severe flooding and drought in Myanmar. The war between armed groups there has already impeded Myanmar’s climate actions.
Armed conflicts in the biodiversity hotspot are not unique to Myanmar. The concern is that between 1950 and 2000, nine out of 10 major armed conflicts occurred in countries rich in biodiversity. Over 80% of these conflicts in such hotspots have resulted in substantial biodiversity loss, deforestation, and other environmental impacts.
The ongoing Myanmar Civil War also poses significant threats to the forests and wildlife of neighbouring Bangladesh. Myanmar and its southwest edge bordering Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)lie in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.
Bangladesh has been facing challenges with Myanmar over the Rohingya refugee issue. The emergence of ethnic armed groups as dominating powers has further complicated negotiations for peaceful repatriation of the refugees.
The influx of refugees in 2017, has increased pressure on Bangladesh's natural resources, particularly in the biodiversity-rich Chittagong division, where deforestation for settlement space is rampant.
Due to the Myanmar Civil War, border areas in Bandarban and Khagrachari [Two among CHT districts] are at high risk for drug trafficking, human smuggling, and illegal weapon transfers, and the civil war will likely worsen these issues.
If another influx of persecuted groups happens due to the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, the CHT might see irreparable damage to the natural environment.
Another issue is worrying. Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar forms part of the Golden Triangle of wildlife trade.
A recently published study traces that Thailand, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar import wildlife from Bangladesh. Another study finds that Bangladesh also imports poached tigers and trophies from northern Myanmar. All wildlife trafficking operates through the border.
It can be assumed that the Myanmar Civil War is further smoothing the wildlife trafficking routes across the border.
Relevance of IHL
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) limits the effects of armed conflict to protect non-combatants and restricts warfare methods. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols are central to IHL, applying to all conflict parties to ensure humane treatment and protection during war.
However, warfare's toll extends far beyond human suffering, displacement, and infrastructural damage, causing extensive destruction and degradation of the environment.
Direct protection of the environment in armed conflicts was first proposed in 1972 at the ICRC-organized Conference of Government Experts on the Reaffirmation and Development of IHL applicable in Armed Conflicts.
On 8 June 1977, Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions provided the rules for protecting the natural environment in Article 35 and Article 55. These rules prohibit employing methods or means of warfare which are intended or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment, health, or survival of the population.
The Myanmar Civil War now warrants a discussion on the relevance of IHL in minimizing damage to the natural environment.
Challenges in implementing IHL
IHL’s distinction between international and non-international armed conflicts poses significant challenges to its applicability and enforcement for environmental protection.
While most recent conflicts are internal, IHL's body of treaty and customary law governing non-international armed conflict (NIAC) is limited. No treaty norm explicitly addresses environmental damage during NIAC, and obligations are generally less restrictive than for international armed conflicts.
Moreover, many IHL rules are not universally applicable to all States, particularly those that are not a Party to them, unless they have entered the corpus of customary international law. This is a major limitation for the practical relevance and effectiveness of the IHL treaties.
In the case of the Myanmar Civil War, the effectiveness of Protocol 1 is weaker because Myanmar, even as a State Party, has not yet agreed with it.
Way Forward
The ICRC Guidelines on the Protection of the Natural Environment in Armed Conflict (2020) emphasize the application of IHL rules protecting the natural environment in non-international armed conflicts.
The Guidelines’ Recommendation 18 and Rule 26, in particular, encourage the combating parties in non-international armed conflict to respect or ensure respect for IHL, including the rules protecting the natural environment.
In the present situation, Bangladesh could motivate Myanmar’s incumbent government to show respect to Protocol I. At the same time, Bangladesh informally could encourage the armed ethnic groups to follow the ICRC guidelines on protecting the ‘transboundary’ natural environment.
* Photos: Collected from Ro Abdumonaf's Facebook wall.
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