The natural environment is also a potential loser during a war. Oil spills, groundwater contamination, spent munitions, soil erosion and compaction, spills from damaged facilities can all contribute to ongoing environmental degradation. In the case of Iraq it may be that the country will be in no position to undertake an extensive clean-up after the war ends. The New Scientist says that one ongoing impact of the last Gulf War was the contamination of freshwater aquifers in Kuwait as a result of seepage of spilt oil.


The United Nations Environment Program has begun looking into the potential impacts of the war.

Geneva, 20 March 2003 - UNEP's Post Conflict Assessment Unit (PCAU) has initiated a Desk Study of the environment in Iraq, aimed at providing a rapid and timely overview of key environmental issues in the context of the current conflict. The study has been requested by UNEP's Executive Director, in line with the mandate for UNEP post-conflict activities set by the organization's Governing Council. The work is financially supported by the Government of Switzerland.

The UNEP web pages have heaps of relevant links including satellite photos of burning oil wells. As well as a plea for post war reconstruction to include efforts to save the Marshlands of Mesopotamia.

Archaelogical sites may also be damaged during the war. From New Scientist:

Archaeologists from six nations, including Iraq and the US, say that Iraq's unique heritage "appears now to be in grave danger". The statement, published in Science warns of "irreparable losses both to local communities and to all humanity".

In February, US archaeologists gave the coordinates of over 5000 important sites to the US Department of Defense so that they could be actively avoided in bombing raids. But many sites have potential military targets nearby and so could be hit by accident.

"Archaeological sites have been placed on no-strike lists," a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to New Scientist. But they stressed that if Iraqi weapons were placed at these sites, they would become legitimate targets.