Raising awareness concerning the environmental impacts resulting from military operations.

 In the last decade, understanding of the environmental dimensions of armed conflicts has dramatically improved and is increasingly addressed in the international policy agenda. The drivers and consequences of harm are better understood through growing datasets and monitoring opportunities; environmental harms, incidents and trends are more visible; states, international organisations and civil society are more cognisant of the linkages and the need for action, and; a normative legal framework to enhance protection throughout the cycle of conflicts is emerging. Growing awareness of environmental impactsfrom military operations, be it in the targeting decisions and risks assessments or the environmental footprint, should result in further prevention, mitigation, and minimization of environmental damage. Prioritizing environmental objectives in peace processes can create pathways for effective conflict transformation. While post-conflict environmental recovery can incorporate nature-based solutions, contributing to sustainability goals. Without a coherent international agenda on the Environment, Peace and Security, already fragile states will face a more uncertain future. Conflicts will continue to wreak unacceptable levels of harm, accelerating environmental degradation and undermining human development and ecosystems. And by failing to develop and apply the policies that would help centre the environment in conflict transformation, we make a return to violence more likely. A new Environment, Peace and Security agenda is urgently needed to ensure attention for the environment in the global peace and security discourse, and to encourage transformative policymaking. Components of this agenda must include:

• A recognition of the intrinsic relationship between the environment, peace and security, and the critical role that the environment plays throughout the cycle of conflict.
• Acknowledgement of the inextricable link between the protection of the environment and the protection of civilians.
• A commitment to enhancing, adopting, implementing, and promoting compliance and accountability with the legal framework protecting the environment in relation to armed conflicts. 
• A healthy environment is elementary for the protection of civilians and a prerequisite for lasting security.
• Effective and sustained measures to mainstream the environment in peace and security discourses, policymaking, peacebuilding, and recovery. 
• Support for the environmental data architecture necessary to inform effective decision making.
• Engagement with local authorities, affected communities, local civil society groups and experts to strengthen an inclusive process for health and environmental risk assessments and remediation work in post-conflict settings.

It remains an imperative goal to defend and improve the environment for present and future generations. The international community now faces a choice. Utilise these tools and this engagement to reduce harm to people and ecosystems already made vulnerable by the climate emergency, accelerating biodiversity loss and pollution, or continue with business as usual. A new agenda for the Environment, Peace and Security is an opportunity to shift from agreements to action.