INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Large amounts of Agent Orange had been stored at the Da Nang airport during the war and contaminated the soil with dioxin
The cleanup project, including heating contaminated soil to high temperatures, was completed in 2018.
Credit:
at the base, which leaked large amounts of the toxin into soil and water, where it continues to accumulate in animal tissue as it moves up
studied.Current-day scientists have far more options than those 50 years ago, including satellite imagery, which is being used in Ukraine to
identify fires, flooding, and pollution
However, these tools cannot replace on-the-ground monitoring, which often is restricted or dangerous during wartime.The legal situation is
Yet oil fires set by Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991, and recent environmental damage in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, and Syria indicate the
limits of relying on treaties when there are no strong mechanisms to ensure compliance.
Remediation work to remove dioxin
Credit:
USAID Vietnam
An international campaign currently
underway calls for an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to add ecocide as a fifth prosecutable crime
alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.Some countries have adopted their own ecocide laws
Russia and Ukraine also have ecocide laws, but these have not prevented harm or held anyone accountable for damage during the ongoing
conflict.Lessons for the futureThe Vietnam War is a reminder that failure to address ecological consequences, both during war and after,
will have long-term effects
What remains in short supply is the political will to ensure that these impacts are neither ignored nor repeated.Pamela McElwee, Professor
of Human Ecology, Rutgers University
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