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Critical Assessment of the Environmental Consequences of the Invasion of Kuwait, the Gulf War, and the Aftermath

  • Chapter
Environmental Consequences of War and Aftermath

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC3,volume 3U))

Abstract

The invasion, occupation and liberation warfare severely impacted all aspects of desert environment, the soil, native vegetation and other natural resources of Kuwait. The State of Kuwait adopted immediate measures after liberation to restore the oil sector and clear the ammunition from the desert. Several studies were conducted by local and international organizations to understand the nature of the damage and quantify the extent of the damage to the environment and ecosystem. The results clearly indicate that these impacts still persist even after 18 years and in some cases, their hazard potential has increased. Research efforts were also made to evaluate various technologies to rehabilitate or restore degraded ecosystems and the environment. However, further research is needed to monitor long-term impacts of pollutants on the ecology and human health. The chapter discusses the findings of the investigations conducted on this subject and presents recommendations for large-scale rehabilitation of Kuwait's desert environment and ecosystem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food Resources and Marine Sciences Division, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, 24885, Safat, 13109, Kuwait

    Samira A.S. Omar & N. R. Bhat

  2. Kuwait National Focal Point, 28311, Safat, 13083, Kuwait

    Adel Asem

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  1. Samira A.S. Omar
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  2. N. R. Bhat
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  3. Adel Asem
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, 202 Apperson Hall, Corvallis, 97331, OR, USA

    Tarek A. Kassim

  2. Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, C/Jordi Girona 18–26, Barcelona, 08034, Spain

    Damià Barceló

  3. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, Edifici Jaume Casademont, 15, Girona, E-17003, Spain

    Damià Barceló

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Omar, S.A., Bhat, N.R., Asem, A. (2009). Critical Assessment of the Environmental Consequences of the Invasion of Kuwait, the Gulf War, and the Aftermath. In: Kassim, T.A., Barceló, D. (eds) Environmental Consequences of War and Aftermath. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 3U. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87963-3_5

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