Give Sustainable Recovery a Chance

Sep 18, 2026 | Anna Ackermann and Doug Weir
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Where it exists, armed conflicts undermine environmental governance, and at a time where the environment is under intense pressure. The legacy of this can last years, particularly where conflicts are prolonged, or cyclical; it can also affect areas and sectors far from frontlines. In the face of the global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and land degradation, and as the environmental consequences of warfare are finally becoming more visible, we are seeing long overdue attention on how conflict recovery processes can be made more responsive to these environmental pressures: the principle of sustainable recovery. This attention is most pronounced in Ukraine but we argue that lessons being learned there could be applied to conflict-affected areas of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).