The arguably heavy environmental impact of the US invasion of Iraq cannot even be assessed, while that of the Israeli incursion into Lebanon two years ago remains largely unaccounted for, due to lack of legal tools to make warring parts liable of environmental war crimes, Arab activists said at the IUCN World Conservation Congress on Friday.

The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature is pressing the IUCN to approve a resolution on "liability and compensation mechanisms for environmental crimes during armed conflicts." Environmental damage due to armed conflict is a global issue affecting many parts of the world - from the Middle East to Africa and Europe - yet there is no provision in any relevant international treaty to make such crimes punishable by law, activists said.

A protocol could be added to the Geneva Convention, while IUCN expertise and resources as an observer member of the United Nations may provide a stronger political backing to encourage research and legal action, said Razan Zuayter, president of the Group.

The Wildlife Watch Group (WWG) launched on Friday, a book, Armed conflict and conservation: Case studies from around the world, a compilation of conflict and conservation nexus from around the world. The book concludes that the outbreak of armed conflict can halt and reverse conservation efforts, if proper preventive measures are not adopted. "Experience from around the world suggests there are ways to sustain conservation in times of conflict," said Arzu Rana Deuba, the author of the book.