Examing how ill-designed environmental policies can trigger insurgencies against constitutional governments.

1. The Connections between
Environmental Policies and Insurgencies
in Iraq and Afghanistan
Dr. Mishkat Al Moumin

2. Establishing the Connection
● The insurgency is the function of grievance and the opportunity available to
a certain group to act violently on its grievance (Dixon 1999: 143).
● Environmental policies (formal actions, laws and regulations regarding
distributing environmental resources among the population) in the Middle
East are often designed to trigger grievances among certain population
groups by depriving social groups access to environmental resources (e.g.
water, timber and croplands) or services (e.g. safe drinking water,
sanitation, electricity, and trash collection).

3. Afghanistan
● 80 percent of the population relies directly on natural resources to meet
its daily needs.
● President Hamid Karzai issued a decree in February of 2002 prohibiting
the harvesting of timber, which resulted in timber smuggling to Pakistan
by the timber mafia.
● Elements of former Mujahideen and terrorist organisations such as
Lashkar-e-Taiba (Van Der Schriek 2006; SATP 2001),1 Taliban (Dorronsoro
2009)2 and Korengal insurgency (Moore/Fussel 2009: 21; Junger 2008;
Rubin, 2008)3 operate in the Nuristan and Kunar provinces where most of
the country's timber exists.
● These insurgent groups launched a proxy war against U.S. soldiers.

4. Iraq
● Following the fall of Saddam’s regime (April 2003) the citizens of Sadr City
staged an armed opposition against the elected Iraqi government, which had
failed to provide access to environmental services such as safe drinking
water, sanitation, electricity and trash collection.
● This happened even though the government shared the same ethnic and
religious background of Sadr City residents.

5. Conclusions
● Environmental policies (as a formal course of action taken by a government)
are an essential and integral part in addressing insurgencies in the Middle
East.
● These policies should be designed to ensure access to environmental
resources and services.
● Depriving people from accessing environmental resources resulted in the
foundation of the powerful insurgencies that are currently challenging the
constitutional government.
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