Context: A study has found that in the last three decades, such conflicts have been spread across habitats used by more than three-quarters of the world’s terrestrial birds and mammals as well.

• A staggering 9,056 bird species and 4,291 mammal species had witnessed armed conflicts.
• Around 70% of all threatened amphibians, birds and mammals, as categorised in the IUCN Red List, face armed conflict across their ranges

Key Points

• Armed conflicts – wars, civil strife and unrest, which cause human deaths, suffering and large-scale displacement – impact biodiversity too, and its direct consequences are often the most visible.
• Another direct impact of war is habitat loss and degradation.
• Armed conflicts can weaken regulatory mechanisms.

Indian Scenario

• Many conflicts in India have been known to affect wildlife and protected areas.
• Hotspots of armed conflict in India overlap particularly with biodiverse areas in parts of its north, east and northeast.
• Examples: Conflicts the disputed India-Pakistan border have affected species such as the endangered markhor.
• In Jharkhand, conflict has impacted protection capacity in the Palamau Tiger Reserve.

What can be done?

• Reassess species including those currently listed in non-threatened categories in the Red List – to better recognise and document threats from armed conflicts.
• Develop conservation plans to tackle the various direct and indirect threats at multiple levels.
• Conservation, sustainable and equitable management of nature play an important role in preventing conflict and in rebuilding peace.
• Take the support of indigenous and local communities.