Description
There has recently been an increased interest in so-called "Green Militarization" or "the war to save biodiversity" (R. Duffy). In broad terms, this refers to the increased militarization of conservation efforts, for example in sub-Saharan Africa, and Southern/South-Eastern Asia. Thus, Botswana has authorized the use of lethal force against (suspected) poachers, and the UK Army trains park rangers in Zambia in Operation Corded 9.
The militarization of conservation raises a number of important questions. However, one relatively under-research issue concerns the legal and ethical justification for the use of force in order to protect nature. In a recent article, Amy Dickman and colleagues argue that the ‘instrumental value of the environment to human life, and the intrinsic value of individual megafauna’ is such that the use of force, including potentially lethal force, could be permissible (though they note there are other factors that limit the permissibility of such lethal force). Elsewhere, Robyn Eckersley has argued that the use of military force to stop “ecocide” could be considered a kind-of just war.
This paper will consider these kinds of arguments, and analyze the prospects for an “environmental responsibility to protect”. The increased use of military force in conservation makes this an urgent and important project.
