Abstract :
This paper examines the ongoing threat to environmental security in Lebanon since the
end of the civil war in 1990. It makes the case that there can be environmental causes and effects
of conflict, as well as environmental targets of conflict in Lebanon. It examines why the
government does not always implement international environmental treaties. The paper studies
the hydropolitics of the region, the ominous threat of water wars, and the claims of Syria and
Israel on Lebanon’s abundant water. It examines the Wazzani pump dispute that erupted in 2001
when, following Israeli withdrawal, the Lebanese government decided to divert water from the
Hasbani River into surrounding impoverished villages. The dispute exemplifies how water
tensions, in an area already fueled by political distrust, can easily inflate into war rhetoric. The
implications for cooperation with Israel, as well as the role of water in the peace process are also
analyzed.
