Warfare and Wounded Landscapes in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia (1935-1991)

This study examines the enduring ecological scars of landmines, explosive remnants of war (ERW), and war debris in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, from 1935 to 1991, focusing on the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1941) and the Derg-Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) Conflict (1975–1991). It argues that warfare, alongside other factors, significantly exacerbated environmental degradation in Tigray. The Italian invasion introduced landmines and chemical agents like mustard gas, poisoning soil, water, and vegetation, while the DergTPLF conflict planted landmines indiscriminately across the countryside, saw cluster and phosphorus bombs, which disrupted traditional conservation practices and decimated wildlife. Long after hostilities ceased, these remnants restricted agricultural activities, intensified soil erosion, and threatened biodiversity. Drawing on archival sources, such as governmental documents, military reports, and contemporary news articles, and interviews with knowledgeable elders, and existing literature, this study underscores warfare’s role as a catalyst for systemic environmental collapse, challenging conventional post-conflict recovery narratives. This study contributes to environmental history and conflict studies by documenting warfare’s multi-generational ecological impacts in Tigray, extending beyond battlefield destruction to examine militarized landscapes and their socio-ecological consequences. It advocates for integrating demining with ecological rehabilitation in postwar recovery frameworks, tackling warfare’s prolonged impacts—including landscape militarization, displacement, and degraded livelihoods—to mitigate its hidden environmental and socio-economic burdens.