Transcript Slide 1

Environment in Lebanon:
Status and Way Forward
Ricardo Khoury
Environmental Consultant, ELARD
City Café – Beirut, Lebanon
April 5, 2007
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
2
Environmental Concerns
•
•
•
•
•
•
Solid Waste
Sources of pollution
Wastewater
Water
Sinks of pollution
Air quality
Effect of pollution
Climate change
Environmental impacts from July 2006 war
3
Solid Waste
• MSW Generation (2001 estimate): 1.44 million tons/year
• Equivalent to 0.92 kg/capita/day
18%
Organic
7%
5%
GBA
63%
4%
3%
10%
17%
9%
Paper and Cardboard
Plastic
3%
Glass
3%
Textiles
Metals
National
Construction/demolition
Other
5%
2%
51%
Source: MoE/Ecodit
4
Solid Waste (2)
Source: MoE
5
Solid Waste (3)
Tripoli
Controlled Waste
Disposal Areas
Greater Beirut
and Mount
Lebanon
Zahle (50%)
6
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
7
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
8
Wastewater
• Lebanon generates about 250 million m3 of
wastewater per year
• Almost the totality of this wastewater is directly
discharged in the sea, rivers, valleys or land
9
Wastewater (2)
A kk a r (2 )
T r ip o li (5 )
Mediterranean Sea
K o u r a (1 )
B a tr ou n ( 4 )
Jb e il ( 5 )
K e sr ou a n ( 6 )
M et n ( 7)
B e ir u t ( 7 )
Baab da ( 3)
A ley (1 )
C h o uf ( 3)
S a id a ( 6 )
S o u r (3 )
Source: CDR/LACECO, 2000c
10
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)
11
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
12
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)
13
Water (3)
• Surface water also suffers from pollution
14
Water (4)
• Seawater intrusion
15
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
16
Air Quality & Climate Change
• Main sources of air pollution:
– Transport
– Power plants
– Industries
Air
pollution
loads
(ktonnes)
Greenhouse Gases
13,000
476.4
500
361.2
52.4
3.1
83.0
54.2
0
CO2
CH4
N20
NOx
CO
NMVOC
SO2
17
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
300
TSP,
µg/m3
Average
166 mg/m3
200
Lebanese
24-hr standard
100
USEPA
24-hr standard
0
1
2
3 4
6
8
9 10 11 12 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
18
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)
19
Environmental Impacts from
War
20
The Oil Spill
• Up to 15,000 m3 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
21
Impacts from Reconstruction
• 445,000 m2 of road network, 92 bridges, and 130,000
dwelling units (HRC)
• 2.5 to 3 million m3 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
22
Other Environmental
Impacts (1)
23
Other Environmental
Impacts (2)
24