SUNDAY 8 JUNE
SALA 3
5.30 P.M.
When a country enters war, its population is not the only target under attack. Besides destruction, suffering, and death, armed conflicts also cause irreparable damage to ecosystems burdened under the toll of human activity. Modern warfare relies on enormous quantities of explosive that destroy infrastructure and production plants, causing them to release myriad toxic chemicals into the environment. The environmental footprint of war can persist for decades, rendering the soil sterile, the water supply unusable, and the landscape unrecognizable. The two films presented in this section – the one on the effects of past nuclear testing at the Salton Sea, today on the brink of ecological collapse, the other a personal account of the civil war in Sudan, where environmental destruction is an added means of warfare – are the focus of this panel discussion. The aim is to examine the interaction between war and sustainability and to gain an understanding of the severity of the situation. There is an urgent need for action to restore and maintain peace. During the discussion, scenes from two films in the making will be shown: Luzia Schmid’s Ecocide and Dmytro Hreshko’s Divia. Attention is called to the Russian-Ukraine war, with reference to past wars such as the war in Vietnam, and to the fact that in Ecocide the fight for the environment is linked to the fight for peace, to erosion of democracy, climate change, civilian deaths and torture, the silent victim of armed conflict.
Speakers
Caterina Mele, associate professor, Dept. Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering (DISEG), Politecnico di Torino, member of the Green Team at the Politecnico, teacher in the national graduate program in peace studies, section on technology, sustainability, and peace
Roberto Mezzalama, expert in environmental and social impact assessment, adjunct professor, University of Turin, collaborated with Harvard University on infrastructure sustainability, member of the board of directors, Politecnico di Torino
Eric Holland, Dim Filmhouse producer for Luzia Schmid’s documentary Ecocide.
Glib Lukianets, Gogol Film producer for Dmytro Hreshko’s documentary Divia.
