Lebanon Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment

With concerns regarding the extent of environmental damage caused by the oil spill and potential contamination of land, air, water and biota as a result of the conflict, the Lebanese Minister of Environment requested UNEP on 5 August 2006 to conduct a post-conflict environmental assessment of Lebanon. This activity was included in the Government of Lebanon’s National Early Recovery Plan, released on 31 August 2006. The conflict in Lebanon and in Israel, which began on 12 July 2006 and ended on 14 August with a ceasefire under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, was relatively short – lasting 34 days. However, the impact on Lebanon’s civilian population was significant, with 1,191 people reportedly killed and 4,405 injured. In addition, more than 900,000 Lebanese fled their homes. Severe damage was caused to infrastructure, with wide-spread destruction of arterial roads and more than 100 bridges or overpasses. Beirut airport and sea ports were bombed, and approximately 30,000 housing units were destroyed or badly damaged. UNEP’s post-conflict environmental assessment was conducted within the geographical area of Lebanon, which is the focus of this report.