War Impacts on the Environment in the Mediterranean and Evolution of International Law

Between 1950 and 2000 many conflicts occurred in the Mediterranean (Pfetsch ch. 3). While environmental reasons had not been a major cause during the 20th century, nevertheless several violent conflicts had a lasting negative impact on the environment: on flora and fauna and also for the well-being of human beings. While this book prefers a medium definition of the Mediterranean (Brauch ch. 2), this chapter includes the Persian Gulf because the Gulf War (1990–1991) resulted in major environmental damage and had political repercussions for the Mediterranean region.