WarWilding: When Nature Becomes a Tool of War and Recovery

The term “WarWilding” was coined by researcher Jasper Humphreys of King’s College London. It describes the phenomenon of deliberately altering the natural environment during military operations—for both defensive and offensive purposes.

In 2022, Humphreys used this concept to explain events in Ukraine, when the Ukrainian military deliberately breached a dam on the Irpin River to flood the area and halt the advance of Russian troops. This decision had a dual effect: military (slowing down the enemy) and ecological (restoring a flooded floodplain that had not existed for over 70 years).

A Research Approach.

In 2024, researcher Lynn Ma published an article titled “WarWilding: A Weapon and a Shield in the Midst of Conflict” in the Hastings Environmental Law Journal.

She distinguishes between two types of WarWilding:
• Defensive—when changes to the natural environment help deter aggression while simultaneously contributing to the conservation or restoration of ecosystems.
• Offensive — when nature is used to cause harm, for example, by destroying crops, poisoning water, or ravaging territories.

Ma emphasizes that defensive use may be consistent with international law, but offensive use generally violates the ENMOD Convention (Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques) and other norms of international humanitarian law.

In the field of military engineering, there is the concept of “defensive wetlanding”—the creation or restoration of wetlands to slow the movement of enemy equipment. In addition to their defensive role, such measures can have environmental benefits: improving water quality, providing flood protection, and preserving biodiversity.

Why this is important for Ukraine.

In the context of war, WarWilding demonstrates that defense strategies can be compatible with nature conservation approaches. This opens up opportunities for:
• integrating environmental solutions into military planning;
• minimizing damage to nature during combat operations;
• faster environmental recovery after the war.