With wars and armed conflicts raging around the world, there is a pressing need to monitor and respond to the environmental harm and public health risks caused by them. In 2023, PAX together with a group of academics, experts and civil society representatives, formed the Decentralized Damage Mapping Group (DDMG). This initiative brought together expertise to exchange ideas and collaborate on improving earth observation (EO) that supports humanitarian response, informs post-conflict assessments and raises awareness on devastating conflict impacts on the environment. In recognition of these efforts, the European Space Agency honoured this initiative with the Earth Observation Excellence Award, which was handed over to the DDMG at the Living PlanetSymposium in Vienna on June 25.
The group has provided rapid damage assessment of buildings and agriculture in Gaza and Ukraine, monitored impacts on water security in Syria, and identified conflict-related environmental hazards in Sudan and Yemen. Since 2015, we have been at the forefront of developing a methodology that combines remote sensing and open-source intelligence to provide insights on conflict-linked environmental harm – and to explore how environmental action can be a tool for peacebuilding. Through our country work in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, South Sudan, Sudan, Palestine and Yemen, we have supported UN agencies, local civil society groups and the wider humanitarian community with critical data on conflict-linked environment degradation. Yet, there is still much to learn, and collaboration is key to improve speed, quality and effectiveness of remote sensing analysis to provide insights on those destructive dynamics.
‘Earth observation is an essential tool for PAX to monitor environmental dimensions of armed conflicts. For example, our assessments on Syria, Gaza and Yemen have been instrumental to mobilizing international support and guiding clean-up and recovery planning. The DDMG provides a vital space for collaboration across institutional, sectoral and national boundaries towards better use of ESA’s EO data in support of the most vulnerable, conflict-affected communities worldwide. Because such transdisciplinary collaboration is not without practical challenges, we are especially proud that ESA has recognized its relevance with this award’, shares Marie Schellens, PAX’s Geospatial Specialist within the Environment, Peace and Security team.
At a time when budgets for humanitarian and peacebuilding initiatives are shrinking and the climate crisis is worsening environmental degradation in conflict-affected areas, the need for timely, reliable and comprehensive environmental monitoring is larger than ever. This work is crucial to protect lives, livelihoods and the environment people depend on. The DDMG aims to respond to this need by building collaborative partnerships for joint research and fundraising to strengthen response to environmental emergencies in conflict
During the Living Planet Symposium, PAX also presented two posters: one on our environmental monitoring methodology in support of humanitarian operations as part of collaboration with NASA Lifelines, and another on deforestation in Iraqi Kurdistan. Both can be found in a full version via the link below.
PAX is committed to expanding the important work around the environment, climate and conflict, and welcomes opportunities for collaboration and support. If you’re interested in learning more or exploring ways to contribute, please reach out to Wim Zwijnenburg, Project Leader for Humanitarian Disarmament, at zwijnenburg@paxforpeace.nl.
