November 6th marks 15 years since the first celebration of the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. The environment is the “unpublicized victim of war.” According to the United Nations Environment Programme, over the last 60 years 40% or more of internal conflicts have been linked to the exploitation of valuable resources or the scramble for scarce ones.  Resolution 15 of this year’s UN Environment Assembly highlights the fact that healthy ecosystems and sustainably managed resources reduce the risk of armed conflict. Therefore, in order to work towards peace in our world, we must not discount the needs of the planet on which we live.