Beyond the Battlefield: Assessing the Environmental Legacy of War in Lebanon

At the end of each war or conflict, our minds begin reflecting on the things we consider to be valuable: people, places, personal belongings… Once we make sure that these things are safe and unaffected, we go back to our normal lives. We drink the same water, breathe the same air, and eat from the same land, overlooking and being ignorant to the substantial dangers and chronic diseases we may face in the long term. According to the United Nations, in 2023 alone, over 170 armed conflicts were recorded (2023), leaving behind detrimental, silent, non-visible environmental effects that are difficult to measure in the years that follow. Recently, in the MENA region, Lebanon was one of the countries that were at the heart of ongoing conflicts. As such, the environmental legacy of the 2023-2024 war extends beyond immediate destruction, leaving persistent damage, stripping land of fertility, multiple water bodies that are no longer safe to consume, and many other effects that could complicate post-conflict recovery and endanger environmental and socioeconomic resilience.

When military attacks disrupt critical infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and municipalities, the environmental ramifications would not easily vanish with the cessation of hostilities. On the contrary, the real threat may hide beneath collapsed utilities, leading to hazardous debris, chemical pollutants, and contaminated land and water resources. According to a report published by the UNDP, due to hundreds of air strikes in the South, many farmers lost their agricultural lands, where “a total of 2,193 hectares of agricultural land and pastures (1,917 hectares of forest and 275 hectares of agricultural land) were affected, primarily damaged by the use of white phosphorus, shelling, and other chemicals” (2025). Thus, these people may be highly vulnerable to losing their major economic source permanently. In addition, it will not affect only them as individuals; rather, its negative consequences will encompass the country as a whole.

Undoubtedly, the agricultural activities in the South contribute a significant share to the Lebanese economy. The soil, which is considered a long-term environmental receptor, is directly affected and can contribute to further contamination and disease. In Lebanon, “between 2001 and 2025, lead, antimony, copper and zinc increased significantly in the soils sampled in the districts of Marjaayoun and Nabatieh….to be typical fingerprints of military activities….” (Amel.org, 2026). Such numbers raise concerns as some of these heavy metals are carcinogenic and could lead to various problems that put food security at risk, exacerbating numerous diseases in the long run.

Moreover, during wartime, toxins, pollutants, harmful chemical emissions, and smoke from heavy fuel use and exploded or unexploded military ordnance are not confined to a specific geographical area. Instead, through many ecological pathways (air, water bodies, soil...), they can spread to other locations, causing pollution and diseases. For instance, they can affect other terrestrial areas through irrigation or through polluted runoff reaching other fields, thus harming many crop fields that people usually depend on as their main food supply. Furthermore, some polluted water from the conflict-related debris might reach groundwater, exposing people to high levels of heavy metals and other harmful contaminants because many depend on these reservoirs for direct consumption. In Lebanon, and due to the conflicts since 2024 that have directly intensified water contamination levels, “…an estimated 874,000 people in Lebanon were living at Crisis or Emergency levels of acute food insecurity” (Green, 2026). Such crises are substantial and must be effectively managed from an environmental-health perspective, where water is not only an ecological resource but also a route through which pollutants can reach human populations.

Addressing these environmental health-related issues demands more than identifying potential exposure pathways; it requires sustained and efficient monitoring by ministries and responsible municipalities. Unfortunately, in Lebanon, several impediments play a major role in preventing the implementation of mitigation measures. One of the main obstacles is the economic burden Lebanon was already facing before the war, which worsened during and after it, also hindering its ability to reach the SDGs for a more sustainable country (UNDP et al., 2025). In addition to that, research analyzing post-war work in Lebanon after 2006 shows that the effect of the oil spill (caused by bombing the power plant) was hard to mitigate due to weak government infrastructure (Takshe et al., 2010). This constraint persists today, limiting the country’s ability to repair what was damaged.

Accordingly, governments and responsible ministries should cooperate and integrate short- and long-term solutions to remediate potential pollution and, in the long run, to prevent further destruction. For instance, it is recommended by the UNDP that environmental governance should always prioritize means to restore and protect our ecological assets and what is left after the war rather than focusing only on rebuilding (2025). Also, further environmental assessments should be conducted every couple of years to inspect whether there are any improvements regarding the soil, for example, after being affected by missile strikes. By doing so, any possible threat (left from the war) may be directly assessed with the least possible harm to people and communities. Moreover, responsible authorities should emphasize the importance of handling the war’s rubble and debris efficiently, as a large amount of solid waste will accumulate; professional care must be devoted to this process. If hazardous waste is present and kept for a long time, it could harm the broader ecological surroundings (groundwater aquifers, soil components…), whereas if it is handled properly, it will prevent many future dilemmas. Besides hazardous waste, any construction waste should also be treated well. One possible procedure would be recycling it so as to reduce the pressure created by dumping such large amounts of waste.

Ultimately, war outcomes are not limited to a specific time or to what is immediately visible to us. They could persist in nature silently, potentially threatening our health, economy, and lifestyle. Our country's environment is our responsibility; we must care for it to ensure a safe and sustainable place for future generations. For Lebanon, it is essential to find solutions that guarantee viable life and environmental protection rather than building unsystematically simply to reconstruct what has been destroyed. After Lebanon's recovery from the conflict, will environmental restoration serve as a pillar of reconstruction?

References:

Amel.org. (2026, May 27). New report reveals the environmental impacts of war in South Lebanon: Heavy metals linked to the military activities are increasing in soils. Amel Association International - Dignity, Humanity and Solidarity. https://amel.org/new-report-reveals-the-environmental-impacts-of-war-in-south-lebanon-heavy-metals-linked-to-the-military-activities-are-increasing-in-soils/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Green, K. (2026, March 22). Conflict and drought in Lebanon are driving 1 million people into an unprecedented water crisis | Action Against Hunger. Action Against Hunger. https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/press-releases/conflict-and-drought-in-lebanon-are-driving-1-million-people-into-an-unprecedented-water-crisis/

Takshe, A. A., Huby, M., Frantzi, S., & Lovett, J. C. (2010). Dealing with pollution from conflict: Analysis of discourses around the 2006 Lebanon oil spill. Journal of Environmental Management, 91(4), 887–896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.11.005

UNDP, ESCWA, ILO, UNICEF, & UN HABITAT. (2025). The socioeconomic impacts of the 2024 war on Lebanon. In The socioeconomic impacts of the 2024 war on Lebanon (pp. 1–104). UNDP. https://www.undp.org/lebanon/publications/socioeconomic-impacts-2024-war-lebanon?

United Nations. (2023). How conflict impacts our environment. In United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/peace-and-security/how-conflict-impacts-our-environment

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