Paper details
| Paper authors | Jamon Van Den Hoek, Emnet Negash, Corey Scher, Eoghan Darbyshire, Lina Eklund, Laura Peters, He Yin, Wim Zwijnenburg |
| In panel on | Disaster Risk Reduction in Fragile, Conflict-Affected, and Vulnerable (FCV) Contexts: Strategies for Protracted Crises |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
In-Person / |
Abstract
This paper addresses the mounting yet often under-documented environmental dimensions of armed conflict and their implications for disaster risk. In the past year, over 155,000 conflict events were recorded across at least 38 countries, producing not only immediate destruction but also cascading effects across land, hydrological, atmospheric, and ecological systems. These conflict-driven environmental changes can amplify disaster risks—through degraded infrastructure, disrupted hydrology, reduced agricultural capacity, and displacement—especially in fragile settings where DRR is already constrained. While some impacts are spatially discrete and immediate, others unfold more gradually, shaped by ecological feedbacks, weakened governance, and human decision-making. Drawing on satellite-based monitoring, systematic literature review, and global case studies, we argue that understanding the full range of conflict-related environmental consequences is essential for designing conflict-sensitive, adaptive DRR strategies. These insights extend current understanding of DRR in FCV contexts by highlighting how conflict affects not only land systems but also hydrology, atmosphere, and subsurface systems—dimensions often overlooked in disaster risk frameworks. Our approach demonstrates how Earth observation can reveal disaster risk pathways that are otherwise invisible or inaccessible. We offer preliminary recommendations for how DRR partners can apply these insights through rapid, cost-effective, and scalable methods using open-access satellite data.
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