Stage Talks with Bellingcat "Studying Conflict’s Impact on the Environment" with the Conflict and Environment Observatory
Nov 21, 2025
Dr. Owen (Eoghan) Darbyshire, an environmental scientist at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, discusses the hidden ecological impacts of warfare. He reveals how conflicts contribute to air, land, and water pollution, affecting human health and fragile ecosystems. Owen highlights the importance of open-source investigations, like satellite imagery, for tracking environmental damage. He emphasizes innovative tools like the WISEN incident database for verifying harms, while exploring the long-term consequences of warfare on nature and communities.
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Environment Harm Equals Human Harm
- Conflict environmental harm translates directly into long-term human health and livelihood risks.
- Pollution, ecosystem collapse and governance vacuums magnify harm after fighting ends.
Repeated Strikes Multiply Air Pollution
- War produces repeated, simultaneous attacks on oil and fuel facilities that amplify air pollution risks.
- Conflicts lack civil responses and monitoring, leaving exposures unmeasured and unmitigated.
Explosions Cause Long-Lived Soil Risks
- Explosions and industrial strikes create complex, persistent land contamination with carcinogenic energetic compounds.
- Contaminants like TNT or RDX can bioaccumulate in crops, threatening food security and health for years.