1. Environment in Lebanon: Status and Way Forward Ricardo Khoury Environmental Consultant, ELARD City Café – Beirut, Lebanon April 5, 2007

2. 2 Objectives Describe key environmental concerns in Lebanon Explain how government is addressing these concerns Discuss means for civic society and scientists to push forward the environmental agenda

3. 3 Environmental Concerns Solid Waste Wastewater Water Air quality Climate change Environmental impacts from July 2006 war Sources of pollution Sinks of pollution Effect of pollution

4. 4 Solid Waste MSW Generation (2001 estimate): 1.44 million tons/year Equivalent to 0.92 kg/capita/day GBANational Source: MoE/Ecodit

5. 5 Solid Waste (2) Source: MoE

6. 6 Solid Waste (3) Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon Zahle (50%) Tripoli Controlled Waste Disposal Areas

7. 7 Solid Waste (4) Recent Initiatives –USAID Program (2003-2007) (15 mUSD) –EU / OMSAR Program (on-going) (10.5 mEURO) Support to Unions of Municipalities and municipalities in solid waste management

8. 8 Solid Waste (5) A draft Law for Integrated Solid Waste Management was prepared by MoE (2005) and is ready for adoption Lack of long-term planning in this sector is a major hindrance to its improvement Political interference is another major obstacle

9. 9 Wastewater Lebanon generates about 250 million m 3 of wastewater per year Almost the totality of this wastewater is directly discharged in the sea, rivers, valleys or land

10. 10 Wastewater (2) Source: CDR/LACECO, 2000c Mediterranean Sea

11. 11 Wastewater (3) The GoL initiated the construction of seven wastewater treatment plants in 2001: Saida, Chekka, Batroun, Jbeil, Chouf coastal area, Baalbeck and Nabatiyeh None is yet operational Several municipalities have or are finding their own solutions with support of international agencies (such as USAID)

12. 12 Water Lebanon has 40 major streams and rivers with 17 perennial rivers and more than 2000 springs Water quality data is sparse and not enough to assess severity of water pollution

13. 13 Water (2) Of the 10 stations monitored by the National Center for Marine Sciences (NCMS) only one station was deemed fit for swimming based on concentration of fecal coliforms (SOER, 2001)

14. 14 Water (3) Surface water also suffers from pollution

15. 15 Water (4) Seawater intrusion

16. 16 Water (5) Limited progress in solid waste and wastewater management does not help alleviate impacts on water resources Limited control on industrial and agricultural discharges No systematic monitoring of quality of water resources

17. 17 Air Quality & Climate Change Main sources of air pollution: –Transport –Power plants –Industries Air pollution loads (ktonnes) 13,000 Greenhouse Gases

18. 18 Air Quality & Climate Change (2) Limited monitoring of ambient air quality MoE developed a draft Law for the Protection of Air Quality (2005) – yet to be adopted No strategy for air quality protection available Average 166 mg/m3 USEPA 24-hr standard Lebanese 24-hr standard TSP, µg/m 3

19. 19 Air Quality & Climate Change (3) Climate change –Lebanon signed the Kyoto Protocol –Eligible to participate in Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) –Is in the process of selecting a Designated National Authority (DNA)

20. 20 Environmental Impacts from War

21. 21 The Oil Spill Up to 15,000 m 3 of heavy fuel oil spilled in the Mediterranean Sea 150 km of coast affected by the oil spill Palm Island Nature Reserve (Protected Area) polluted

22. 22 Impacts from Reconstruction 445,000 m 2 of road network, 92 bridges, and 130,000 dwelling units (HRC) 2.5 to 3 million m 3 of construction and demolition wastes Inadequate waste management affecting water courses, biodiversity and coastal zone Demand for natural resources (sand and aggregates) has doubled to meet reconstruction needs Average dust concentration could increase by a factor 5 in areas close to heavy construction activities

23. 23 Other Environmental Impacts (1)

24. 24 Other Environmental Impacts (2)