Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Palestine (Gaza Strip) · 2024–2026

Gaza reconstruction and the Board of Peace's first contract

Nature's voice · report
The war put about 33 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent into my air, by one 2026 estimate.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
Recorded
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record See the gaps

The first construction contract issued under the Board of Peace for Gaza was for a military post, ahead of a USD 2.45 billion plan. Researchers and UN agencies have put figures on the war's emissions, the rubble and the cost of recovery.

A military postFirst contract issued under the Board of Peace
Followed by a USD 2.45 billion plan, as reported by The Irish Times, 6 August 2026.

Status As of August 2026: the Board of Peace had issued its first building contract, for a military base; the sources reviewed record no environmental assessment.

What?
The Board of Peace issued its first building contract for Gaza, for a military base. The Irish Times
Where?
Gaza. The Irish Times
When?
Reported on 6 August 2026. The Irish Times
Who?
Gained
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The sources reviewed do not state the reason for starting with a military base.
How?
The contract was reported to precede a USD 2.45 billion plan. The Irish Times
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In July 2024 UNEP was quoted as saying that clearing the rubble in Gaza could take 15 years and cost more than USD 500 million. In February 2025 the UN, the EU and the World Bank put the cost of rebuilding at USD 53.2 billion.

Two university studies estimated the emissions linked to the war. A 2024 study from Queen Mary University of London said rebuilding 100,000 buildings would generate at least 30 million tonnes of CO2. A study reported by Lancaster University in March 2026 put the war's emissions at about 33 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent and noted that military emissions fall outside mandatory reporting.

On 6 August 2026 The Irish Times reported that the Board of Peace had issued its first building contract, for a military base, to be built by the company Arkel. The report said a USD 2.45 billion plan followed.

  1. 2024UNEP: clearing Gaza rubble could take 15 years and cost more than USD 500 million (July); QMUL study on emissions from the war and from rebuilding
  2. 2025UN, EU and World Bank: rebuilding needs USD 53.2 billion (February)
  3. 2026Lancaster University reports study of the war's climate cost (March); Board of Peace issues its first building contract, for a military base (August)

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • The first building contract issued by the Board of Peace was for a military base, to be built by Arkel; a USD 2.45 billion plan followed.
      The Irish Times
    • UNEP said clearing the rubble could take 15 years and cost more than USD 500 million.
      Al Jazeera
    • The UN, EU and World Bank put rebuilding needs at USD 53.2 billion.
      Al Jazeera
    • Researchers estimated the war's emissions at about 33 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent, of which active military operations accounted for at least 1.3 million tonnes.
      Lancaster University
    • Researchers estimated that rebuilding 100,000 buildings would generate at least 30 million tonnes of CO2.
      Queen Mary University of London
    • Rubble volume was given as between 39 and 61.5 million tonnes.
    • Only three countries were reported to have funded the USD 2.45 billion plan.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Emissions from the war
    About 33 Mt CO2e
    Lancaster University, March 2026; active operations at least 1.3 Mt
    Emissions from rebuilding 100,000 buildings
    At least 30 Mt CO2
    QMUL, 2024
    Rubble clearance
    15 years
    UNEP, July 2024; more than USD 500 million

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    No court caseNo independent ecological evaluation

    Court

    Record

    • None on record Military emissions are outside mandatory reporting, according to the authors of the 2026 study.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state how the rubble will be treated or where it will be disposed of.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give the value of the first contract.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not on record in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not established in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Similar cases
    Law, regulation and treaties · European Union · 2022
    EU Deforestation Regulation delays and trade pressure
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame region
    Law, regulation and treaties · Multi-country (Sahel) · 2020
    Great Green Wall core area reported at about 4% of its 100 million hectare target
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame region
    Law, regulation and treaties · European Union · 2024–2026
    EU narrows supply-chain law and delays deforestation rule twice
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame region
    Law, regulation and treaties · Mekong basin · date not stated
    Four Mekong dams trap an average 81% of sediment, Reuters reports
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame region
    Law, regulation and treaties · Greenland · 2009–2014
    Danish opinion piece reports Greenland seal exports down 90 per cent
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame region
    Law, regulation and treaties · European Union · 2018
    EU bans three neonicotinoid pesticides outdoors in 2018; Turkey follows in part
    Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame region