The Military and the Environment

This book surveys the often overlooked environmental costs of military operations around the world, in both active conflicts and peacetime.

The Military and the Environment: A Reference Handbook studies the multifaceted interactions between military operations and the environment internationally since the end of the Cold War in both wartime and peacetime, presenting wide coverage of the topic that will be instrumental to researchers and appeal to general readers.



The book considers three American wars—the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the conflict in Afghanistan—as well as selected civil and regional wars on three continents. It also addresses the environmental costs of peacetime military establishments and surveys the recent improvement of environmental management and planning in several countries' military establishments. In addition, the author spotlights a related but separate subject: how increasing environmental pressures can lead to violent conflict.


• Chronology of significant events and conflicts

• Original materials and documents such as the 1977 Environmental Modification Convention

• Annotated bibliography of source materials