"As long as wars have existed, the environment and natural resources have been their silent victims. Crops have been torched, water wells polluted, forests cut down, soils poisoned and animals killed. The objectives have varied: to provide a strategic advantage, to demoralize local populations, to subdue resistance or simply to feed soldiers. But the consequences, even if unintended, have been uniformly devastating. We have seen outright physical destruction, including the release of pollutants and hazardous substances. We have seen social disruption, such as the creation of refugee populations which in turn put increased pressure on resources. And since most conflicts are being waged in poor countries, we have seen economic devastation inflicted on vulnerable populations least able to cope with harm to their environment and setbacks to their development."