Together with a group of states the ICRC is working to strengthen international law to protect the marine environment in armed conflict. We are supporting this initiative with a new publication that outlines the many aspects of environmental violence in both peace and wartime by the military and armed groups and provides a set of recommendations on what the international community should do to protect our seas and oceans.
Naval warfare and military activities in marine environments cause widespread pollution, damage biodiversity, and pose serious risks to coastal communities. The oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface and may seem vast and resilient. Yet beneath the surface – and along our coastlines – the toxic legacies of past wars and military exercises remain a major threat. New developments in naval warfare are likely to create additional risks that are not yet fully understood. These emerging technologies also raise complex legal questions about how we protect the environment during armed conflict.
At a time when ocean temperatures are rising and marine biodiversity is declining due to human-induced climate change, we must also recognize armed conflict as a contributing driver of this environmental degradation.
A Toxic Legacy Beneath the Waves
PAX is publishing a new report examining how past, current, and future military activities threaten our seas and oceans. The scale of the problem is alarming: Millions of tons of dumped conventional and chemical munitions lie on the seabed, thousands of shipwrecks from the World Wars are slowly deteriorating, making them ticking toxic time bombs. Nuclear testing sites have caused long-term radioactive contamination in locations such as the Marshall Island, and devastated local marine ecosystems.
More recent conflicts have added to the damage. Active hostilities between states, as well as attacks by non-state armed groups, have caused major oil spills that pollute seas and affect coastlines. Explosions and the use of underwater acoustic devices and sonar have killed thousands of marine mammals and disrupted fragile ecosystems. These are just the known examples, as the topic of naval warfare and the environment at large remains understudied.
Emerging Technologies, Emerging Risks
New military technologies present additional environmental concerns – many of which remain insufficiently studied. The growing deployment of uncrewed underwater and surface systems, for example, introduces new uncertainties. Long-range torpedoes powered by nuclear reactors or carrying nuclear payloads – some claimed to generate tsunamis – represent a particularly disturbing development. The growing use of large numbers of uncrewed underwater or surface systems, both by state and non-state armed groups, could create new attack vectors on economic shipping routes and expand risks from ships carrying fossil fuel, chemicals or other hazardous substances.
Other technologies, such as large-scale acoustic listening networks and advanced sonar systems,may interfere with marine life in ways we are only beginning to understand. Many fish and marine mammals rely on Earth’s magnetic fields and sound for navigation and migration. These systems risk disrupting critical migration routes and breeding patterns. As seen with other new disruptive military technologies, many potential environmental consequences are unforeseen and caution is needed when deploying these technologies.
Strengthening Legal Protection Of The Environment
In 2024, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), together with a group of states, launched the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law. This initiative responds to growing concerns about the erosion of international humanitarian law (IHL). Its aim is to strengthen political commitment and ensure that IHL remains fit for purpose in the face of modern warfare and emerging technologies. One of the initiative’s workstreams focuses specifically on the protection of the marine environment during armed conflict.
Protecting our oceans is not only an environmental issue—it is a humanitarian and legal imperative. As warfare evolves, and our oceans’ life declines, we must step up our commitment to safeguarding the marine and coastal ecosystems on which life and livelihoods depends.
To read more about our work on environment, peace and security, visit our dedicated webpage.
