IUCN statement on nature and conflict in the Middle East
IUCN expresses profound concern over the loss of life and the suffering of people affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. IUCN calls for an end to all hostilities, recognising in particular the IUCN Members and Commission members in the region.
Around the world, where conflict sparks, nature is left exposed and vulnerable to destruction. The ongoing conflict is leading to growing pollution, with mounting effects on human health, ecosystems, soils and aquifers now and in the long term. The environmental degradation resulting from this conflict must not be overlooked.
Every human being depends on nature to live; healthy nature promotes stability, and provides abundant natural resources such as water, land, and shelter. Conversely, the destruction of nature leaves a legacy of instability that is hard to reverse. The disruption of ecosystems, pollution, and the destruction of natural resources will reverberate across borders, affecting future generations in both the region and globally.
In the Middle East, the Gulf region's shallow waters and arid macro climate create a distinct pollution dynamic that promotes the long-term persistence of contaminants, making it one of the most ecologically challenging marine environments on Earth. As a result, large-scale pollution incidents are likely to be transboundary and carry the potential for catastrophic impacts — threatening marine ecosystems, species, and coastlines alike — while leaving a polluted legacy that could endure for decades.
This crisis exemplifies the urgent need for an integrated approach that considers the protection of nature as a cornerstone of peace, prosperity and sustainable development. IUCN calls for all parties to recognise international law, including rules protecting resources that are indispensable to human survival, such as food, water sources, and agricultural areas, as well as the prohibition of warfare that causes long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.
IUCN addressed the links between nature and conflict through IUCN's First Flagship Report, "Conflict and Conservation: Nature in a Globalised World". At the 2025 IUCN Congress, IUCN Members called for a recognition of the relationship between nature, peace and security through Resolution 56. The Union has also called for severe, widespread, or long-term environmental destruction to be recognised as a crime under national and international law, through Resolution 60.
The world is at a crossroads of escalating conflict, changing geopolitical relationships and dwindling natural resources. As a Union, IUCN calls on world leaders to recognise the role nature plays in maintaining strong economies and peaceful communities, and to act upon this knowledge.
In an increasingly interconnected world, we must recognise safeguarding nature as an investment in our common future.