The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has exacerbated environmental risks in Lebanon, putting food security and public health at risk.
Ali Al-Sha’ar, a farmer from southern al-Hebbariyah in Lebanon, refused to abandon his land even as his neighbors fled and airstrikes shook the ground around him.
For nearly 14 months, he plowed his fields in the shadow of war; the distant boom of explosions is a constant reminder of danger.
Now, with a fragile ceasefire in place, the immediate threat has disappeared. But its once-flourishing crops are burned, withered under a layer of dust and debris.
For the past year, war has raged in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, driven by the latter’s support for Hamas after its brutal attack on October 7, 2023. A ceasefire then came into force at the end of November, following incessant Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon. and Beirut.
The conflict has worsened Lebanon’s already serious environmental crisis, which stems from years of corruption and poor governance, raising fears about Lebanon’s ability to meet local food needs, according to the country’s National News Agency ( NNA).
The conflict has left agriculture in ruins
While the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have dropped thousands of tons of munitions on southern Lebanon – including internationally banned white phosphorus – its agricultural sector, which accounts for up to 80 percent of local GDP, is devastated.
More than 37 villages, farms and orchards were destroyed during the violence.
“The olive harvest season coincided with the escalation of the conflict, preventing many people from accessing their orchards,” says Hussein Ismail, former president of the Association of Southern Olive Oil Press Owners.
Entire groves have been burned by phosphorus and incendiary bombs, according to Ismail, whose association estimates the loss at 80 percent in all regions.
“These trees will need several years to recover,” adds Ismail. “Most of the trees were destroyed or burned in villages along the front lines, while others lost their fruit prematurely, leaving the olives to spoil. »
In areas like Maimes, Hasbaya district, where 90 percent of land is devoted to olives, farmers harvested early for fear of escalating violence, although they were spared bombings direct.
According to Wahib Madi, director of the Maimes Agricultural Development Cooperative, the brutal harvest led to a 20 percent reduction in olive oil production.
Across the region, the impact extends beyond olive production. Farmers along the Hasbani River have only cultivated about 20 percent of their land, leading to further losses of vegetable and fruit crops.
For farmers like al-Shaar, the challenges are relentless.
“Because of the threat, we only worked a few hours most of the time,” he says. “In a plot in Chebaa, my friend and I grew cauliflower and cabbage, but airstrikes destroyed the entire crop. I lost at least $10,000 (€9,500).
His apple and cherry crops on Mount Sadaana suffered the same fate, with airstrikes making harvesting impossible.
Lebanon’s forests under threat
The environmental toll of the conflict extends beyond agriculture, to forests and public health, raising concern among experts.
According to George Metri, director of the Land and Natural Resources program at the University of Balamand, the fires caused by the war have ravaged thousands of hectares of greenery.
“Our first survey in 2024 reports 5,745 hectares burned, including 2,165 hectares of forests and 908 hectares of agricultural land,” he specifies.
Hala Kallani, president of the environmental organization IndyACT, describes the devastation as both “immediate and long-term.”
“More than five million square meters of forest land, home to unique biodiversity, have been burned. These ecosystems are essential to mitigating climate change and sustaining life across generations,” says Kallani.
Infrastructure damage and environmental pollution are making the situation worse, according to Jalal Helwani, director of the Environmental and Water Sciences Laboratory at the Lebanese University. It notes that Lebanon’s water crisis, already a pressing peacetime problem, has been “worsened” by the ongoing war.
Lebanon’s water supply at risk of collapse
“Lebanon does not have a water surplus,” explains Helwani. “Even though we receive significant rainfall, poor management of water resources has compromised our ability to take full advantage of it. »
The country’s water problems are caused by decades of poor storage infrastructure, leading to groundwater depletion, particularly in coastal areas. “In these areas, pumping of water to meet the growing needs of the population has led to increased salinity levels,” says Helwani.
The war further strained these resources by destroying essential water infrastructure, including networks and reservoirs. Toxic chemicals from banned weapons, such as phosphorus and lead, have polluted the environment, with precipitation carrying the pollutants deeper into groundwater supplies.
“Environmental pollution in Lebanon is multifaceted, but water pollution is the most dangerous. This poses significant challenges in terms of drinking water security, network rehabilitation and infrastructure restoration, which would be costly and time-consuming,” adds Helwani.
It warns of an imminent social crisis when displaced populations return to areas with destroyed infrastructure and contaminated water.
Fog hung over Beirut
Najat Aoun Saliba, an MP and expert in atmospheric chemistry, is leading efforts to understand the impact of war-related pollutants on public health.
“We are currently conducting a study at the American University of Beirut that focuses on pollutants generated by diesel generators and chemicals in munitions used during the conflict,” she explains, noting that generators, often used due to lack of electricity, produce toxic emissions. .
Combined with debris from airstrikes and other war-related activity, these emissions created a persistent black fog over the capital.
“It’s a cocktail of tiny harmful particles like dioxins, polycyclic hydrocarbons and formaldehyde,” says Saliba, noting that the fog contains toxic particles, heavy metals, rocket fuel byproducts and emissions from from the burning of plastic and other materials.
Echoing Saliba’s concerns, Kilani notes that wars also generate significant greenhouse gases that are rarely accounted for, criticizing the global blind spot regarding military emissions.
According to Saliba, prolonged exposure to these pollutants, more than fifty consecutive days in certain areas, presents serious health risks. She warned that contaminants can penetrate the skin and affect all organs, advising residents to take precautions by removing clothes when entering the house, taking a shower and cleaning living spaces with water and soap.
Lebanon’s Environment Ministry has started soil sampling to assess pollution caused by phosphorus bombs and other munitions, according to Mohammad Al-Abyad, an adviser to the minister.
Although winter rains can reduce air pollution, the country’s air quality monitoring system needs to be reactivated, a goal the ministry is pursuing with the World Bank and UNDP.
“It will take decades to repair the destruction caused over the past year,” Kilani says. “Ecosystems have been disrupted, forests decimated and soil and water contaminated. Recovery will require long-term, coordinated efforts to restore biodiversity, rehabilitate agricultural land and combat pollution – challenges made worse by Lebanon’s current economic and infrastructure crises.
