Damages to Watersheds and Natural Resources during the Ramadan War: A Green Reconstruction Framework based on Valuation of Hidden Ecological Debt

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

1 Former Ph.D. Student, Department of Watershed Management, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran

2 Ph.D. Student, Department of Watershed Management, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Watershed Management, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction

The Ramazan Imposed War (March-April 2025) involved extensive military strikes by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran’s infrastructure. Beyond the direct physical destruction, this aggression inflicted profound environmental damage on forests, rangelands, wetlands, and watersheds. Official assessments have largely focused on reconstructable assets, while substantial ecological losses have remained unaccounted for, constituting a “shadow economy” of war and an intergenerational ecological debt.

Problem Statement

The principal challenge addressed in this study is the discrepancy between officially reported war damages and the unrecognized ecological debts arising from the conflict. These debts include irreversible soil degradation, future health costs associated with toxic emissions, the loss of ecosystem services, and climate debt. To date, no systematic assessment or green reconstruction framework has been developed for Iran’s critically affected watersheds.

Analysis and Key Findings

This qualitative study employed thematic analysis of selected reports published up to April 30, 2025, by official Iranian news agencies and government sources. The findings indicate that, in addition to direct physical damages—including fires affecting 8,500 hectares of Zagros forests, damage to 300 water facilities, destruction in 13 protected areas, and more than 91,000 damaged housing units—the war generated four major forms of hidden ecological debt: irreversible soil degradation, future health costs resulting from the release of 4,200 tons of aromatic compounds and 1.05 million tons of CO2 emissions, the loss of freely provided ecosystem services, and climate debt. The absence of preventive mechanisms and rapid environmental response systems was identified as a primary structural cause of these escalating losses.

Policy Recommendations

Accordingly, four practical policy recommendations are proposed: first, the establishment of a National Working Group for Ecological Debt Compensation within two months; second, the launch of a National Ecological Debt Monitoring System across seven priority provinces within three months; third, the creation of the Iran Green Reconstruction Fund with an initial capital of 15,000 billion tomans within six months; and fourth, the establishment of an Environmental Passive Defense Organization within two years. The findings further suggest that each day of delay increases final costs by approximately 1.5-2%, and that purely physical reconstruction, without ecological restoration, repays only half of the war’s total debt.
 

Keywords

References

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Journal of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Volume 5, Issue 14
December 2025

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History

  • Receive Date: 09 May 2026
  • Revise Date: 18 May 2026
  • Accept Date: 26 May 2026

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