When people talk about the costs of war, they are usually
referring to the impact it has on human lives, political relationships and government
bank accounts [Envirotech].
What is often not discussed is the environmental impact that modern
warfare has on the environment. Air pollution, habitat degradation, loss of
species, and water pollution are all factors we should be investigating in relation
to the cost of war.
A recent article published in Science
News takes a look at ecologist trying to restore an entire ecosystem in the
Gorongosa National Park that was
devastated by civil war. The article states that by end of the war in 1992,
only lions remained in very small numbers [single digits]. Large scale
predators, such as African buffalo, blue wildebeest and zebra were all but
eliminated. International scientists and officials are attempting to restore
the entire ecosystem. This is one of the largest attempts at a large scale conservation
mitigation project. The reintroduction of gray wolves into Yellowstone
National Park is the closest in scale of this project. Still 25 years
later, that project has scattered results.
The Gorongosa
Restoration Project launched in 2004. They are still working to restore the area. This project is a fascinating look at ecosystem survival,
mitigation, predator/prey balance, community structure and cascading effects in
the wild in a complex ecosystem suddenly knocked out of balance by war.
To read the full report and intricacies of such a large scale
restoration, follow this link to the article War
wrecked an African ecosystem. Ecologists are trying to restore it. Written by
Jeremy Rehm, published on May 5, 2019.
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