Southern Lebanon and the Nabatiyeh region is very well known for their fertile land from olive trees, fruit trees, grains, grapes and many more. For centuries, local villagers have been farming the fields and relied on the land as their main source of livelihood and income. Agriculture is a crucial component of Lebanon’s economy, approximately 20-25% of Lebanon’s workforce is tied to the agricultural sector.
Shortly after the October 7th Hamas attack and Israel’s war on Gaza, Hezbollah enters the conflict by firing rockets at Israel’s North region causing substantive damage. Since Oct 7th till early January 2024, 91 Villages in the region of Nabatiyeh and South Lebanon have been subject to just over 2000 attacks. These attacks include; shelling by airstrikes, tank artillery, drones and by the illegal use and internationally banned white phosphorous.
Lebanon a country retaining roughly 2 million refugees now faces Internally displaced people (IDPs). Since the start of the year 2024, a very sizeable amount of people have now been internally displaced which is over 64,000. From these numbers 52% are female and 37% are children.
Buildings and dwelling units have either been completely destroyed or partially damaged, many commercial shops have either been damaged, destroyed or closed down due to incoming shelling across the border.
Agricultural destruction and losses
As the War continues so too does the devastation on civilians and their lands. Significant losses has been reported of agricultural lands. Well over 47,000 olive trees destroyed by phosphorus shelling and bombardments, 200,000 chicken and birds lost, 700 livestock lost, over 250 beehives lost.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture the areas that have been affected by fires are over 100,000 m2 of olive groves, over 70,000 m2 citrus farms and much more that have not been reported due to the escalating dangers of shelling.
Particularly for olive trees in South Lebanon provide income for roughly 110,000 households. Known for its high quality, olive oil has been a major exporter for international markets. According to Ministry of Agriculture the physical degradation, chemical pollution by bombs and other artillery weapons has resulted in loss of soil fertility. Although we cannot be for certain the long term affects as access to the land is dangerous. Estimates by officials say in some areas, land fertility could take many years to restore. One inch of topsoil that contains organic microorganisms can take up to 500 to 1000 years to reform. So not only has this year come as a complete loss to Southern Lebanese farmers but this destruction of lands will be felt years from now.
Water ways have been polluted as well, Surface and groundwater has been contaminated by heavy metals and phosphorous in particular South districts. Causing not only a threat to drinking water but also water used for irrigation for plants and vegetables. Heavy metals can poison the water and soil which in turn is easily absorbed by plants.
Economic Impact on Lebanon
Since the start of the Syrian civil war March 2011, Lebanon continues to host more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees (estimates of even 2 Million). This has put a strain on every social service the country has as they struggle with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. Compounding the countries problems, are inflation rates which has been in the triple digits for the past three years. The collapsed banking sector has devalued its local currency by roughly 98%, resulting in depositors having their life savings vanish. The sharp decline in state GDP revenue slipped from 13% in 2020 to 5.7% in 2022 which left a critically diminished role of providing public services. Unemployment rate has hit a record high of roughly 30%, with other rural regions reaching 36%-40%.
Tourism, trade and financial inflows have been heavily affected and are sectors Lebanon highly relies on. Tourism for example, a major contributor to Lebanon’s GDP contributes an estimated 19% annually. This past year 2023, Lebanon received around 1.3 Million visitors (excluding Lebanese living abroad, Syrians and Palestinian’s) which push this number closer to the 2 Million mark. Continued boarder skirmishes will no doubt reduce the number of visitors which restaurants and hotel industry currently face with some hotels reporting a meager 15% occupancy rate.
In conclusion, Lebanon for decades has been dragged into regional proxy wars that not only destabilised the country but has consistently spiralled its economy in a downward trajectory. Just when economic indicators seem to project positive growth, Lebanon again slips into turbulent times. Just as the regeneration and recovery rates of agricultural lands and soil tend to recover considerably slow and restorations of its ecosystem sluggish. So to unfortunately (Bil Assif) will Lebanon and its people fully recover from decades of ongoing conflict and instability.