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Environmental
Impact of Human Conflicts
Program
Area
This activity
is designed for the Grade 9 Self and Society program and/or the
Canadian History program. This activity has been designed to fit
into the Self and Society program components dealing with Change
and Systems Thinking. In the Canadian History program this activity
could be used within the Contemporary Issues unit. This activity
should be integrated with material related to the impact of social,
economic, political, cultural and technological systems on each
other and on ecosystems. Some background on the Gulf War and the
Vietnam War should be provided prior to this exercise.
Learning
Outcomes
Teaching,
learning and evaluation will focus on the student’s ability
to:
- Identify
and describe the environmental and human impact of social, political
and economic conflicts resulting from wartime operations;
- Identify
and describe remedial efforts to limit or repair environmental
damage caused by human conflict and war;
- Evaluate
the relationship between societal and humanitarian issues and
environmental impacts caused by human conflict.
Classroom
Development
- Provide
students with background information about the causes and history
of the Vietnam War and the Gulf War to place this exercise in
context. This could be done with a class discussion.
- Students
read the articles, “After The Storm” (Gulf War) and
“Herbicide Use During The Vietnam War,” and complete
the corresponding question sheets.
- Discuss
student answers in class.
- Divide
the class into groups of 3-4 students, and have the groups complete
the Group Discussion Question Sheet.
- Reconvene
the class and discuss group responses to arrive at an overall
class consensus on the discussion questions.
Background
The articles
which should be provided for the student readings cover both the
environmental and human/social impacts of the Gulf War and the
Vietnam War. For a more complete picture of the long term impact
and recovery of war and conflict, students could read the complete
article, “The Mekong: A Haunted River’s Season Of Peace,”
from which “Herbicide Use During The Vietnam War” is
an excerpt. The article “Vietnam: Hard Road To Peace”
also provides more information on environmental and social effects
of war, some 15 years after the war ended.
Timing
One period
(50 min) to read the articles and discuss responses to the questions.
One period to formulate group discussion question responses and
develop class consensus based on discussion.
Resources
Canby,
Thomas. “After The Storm.” National Geographic,
180(2) August 1991, pp. 9-35.
National
Geographic. “The Mekong: A Haunted River’s Season
Of Peace.” 183(2) February 1993, pp. 2-35.
National
Geographic. “Vietnam: Hard Road To Peace.” 176(5)
November 1989, pp. 561-621.
Cross-disciplinary Links
This activity
also incorporates reading comprehension, writing and oral skills
taught in the Languages program. Within the Science program, this
activity could be used to study the impact of science and technology;
both as a cause and as a solution of environmental and social
problems.
Student
Material
- Student
Question Sheet: After The Storm
- Student
Question Sheet: Herbicide Use During The Vietnam War
- Group
Discussion Question Sheet: Environmental and Social Impacts
of Human Conflicts
Question
Sheets:
“After
The Storm”
- What
effects did the Gulf War have on the local environment?
- What
types of efforts were made to limit the damage and promote cleanup
after the war?
“Herbicide
Use During The Vietnam War”
- Why
was the herbicide “Agent Orange” used during the Vietnam
War?
- What
effect did this herbicide have on the environment and the people?
- Taking
into consideration all the circumstances, do you think that
the use of “Agent Orange” was justified? Explain your
position with a supporting argument.
Group
Discussion
- To what
extent could/should world leaders or military commanders take
environmental impact into consideration when developing strategies
during times of conflict?
- Do we
need and can we create rules to provide a basic level of protection
for the environment, similar to the Geneva Convention protections
for prisoners of war and civilians?
- How
could such an agreement be enforced?
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