natureダイジェスト2011年11月号に、「戦争生態学」なる分野に触れた記事がある。

元となる記事は”Spoils of war”（Nature476,371(25 August 2011)）だ。

Conflict poisons both land and sea, and lost natural resources lead to more violence. Ecology is an unlikely objective during wartime, but one that can help to secure peace.

戦争が環境に及ぼす影響を調査する学問とのこと。気になって調べてみたら、2008年のBioScienceに Thor Hanson らによるその名もずばり” Warfare Ecology ”（BioScience 58(8):729-736. 2008）と題した論文が掲載されていた。そのアブストラクト。

Among human activities causing ecological change, war is both intensive and far-reaching. Yet environmental research related to warfare is limited in depth and fragmented by discipline. Here we (1) outline a field of study called “warfare ecology,” (2) provide a taxonomy of warfare useful for organizing the field, (3) review empirical studies, and (4) propose research directions and policy implications that emerge from the ecological study of warfare. Warfare ecology extends to the three stages of warfare preparations, war, and postwar activities and treats biophysical and socioeconomic systems as coupled systems. A review of empirical studies suggests complex relationships between warfare and ecosystem change. Research needs include the development of theory and methods for examining the cascading effects of warfare on specific ecosystems. Policy implications include greater incorporation of ecological science into military planning and improved rehabilitation of postwar ecosystem services, leading to increased peace and security.

エルニーニョの発生と内戦の発生に相関関係があるといった、戦争前の段階から、戦争によって破壊される環境など戦争そのものの影響、さらには戦後の影響までが視野に入るという。朝鮮半島の非武装地帯のように、生物多様性の保護区のようになっている例もあり、必ずしも戦争が環境にもたらす影響がマイナスばかりではないという指摘にはっとさせられる。