A documentary about the impacts of the oil spill cause dby Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the summer of 2006 has won an international award in a film festival in Italy. The film, produced by the World Comnservation Union (IUCN) and called "The Oil Spill in Lebanon", depicts the environmentally-disastrous oil slick caused by Israel’s bombing of the Jiyyeh power plant in south Lebanon on July 13... [read more]

Source: IRIN News   Ramzi Msharrafyeh stepped carefully between the burned bushes and trees in the village of Ayn Trez, 34km southwest of Beirut, where the air is still heavy with the smell of smoke. This oak tree is among a few that survived the fires,” he said. “It’s almost 500 years old, and nearly all of Lebanon’s princes and presidents sat under it. It’s called the Saad oak tree.” Earlier... [read more]

Source: Environment & Development Magazine   By: Nadine Haddad El-Hajj & Lea Kai Have you ever heard of A Town where the public phone booth was installed before people received water to their houses? No, it is not a scene from one of those back-to-past movies, where the hero goes back to the Middle Ages with a piece of technology from the 21st century; it is the true story of the suffering... [read more]

This is a press release from "Environment & Development" magazine:   Beirut, 6 June 2007   Youth Environment Parliament (YEP) celebrated World Environment Day in a ceremony held at the premises of Environment & Development magazine in Beirut. Hundreds of students and teachers from schools all over the country participated, along with representatives from the Ministries of Environment... [read more]

This is a detailed presentation of the findings contained in UNEP's latest post-conflict environmental assessment in Lebanon. The article was publihsed in the May issue of the Lebanese Pan-Arab leading environmental magazine: Al Bi'a wal Tanmiyah (Environment & Development). You can access the article here   http://www.mectat.com.lb/metopics/Post-War/Post-war.htm    [read more]

By Assem Abi Ali Special to The Daily Star RAMLIEH, Aley: Eco-tourism suffered greatly during the summer 2006 war with Israel, and one of the main victims was the Aley village of Ramlieh, where local investors and other stakeholders had been planning an extensive program before hostilities broke out on July 12. Ramlieh was at the vanguard of Lebanese villages seeking to cash in on eco-tourism,... [read more]

    Berlin, 23 January 2007— Serious and in some cases widespread environmental challenges are confronting the Lebanese authorities as a result of the recent conflict, a report launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says.   Many of the bombed and burnt out factories and industrial complexes including the Jiyeh power plant south of Beirut are contaminated with... [read more]

By Hani M. Bathish and Maher Zeineddine Daily Star staff BEIRUT: The numerous unregulated sand and rock quarries dotting Lebanon's picturesque landscape make up the single largest local source of income for many political parties, according to Habib Maalouf, head of the Lebanese Environmental Party. Many politicians themselves own quarries, he says. Maalouf told The Daily Star that, aside from... [read more]

Poor sewage systems face greater damage due to Israeli bombardment causing serious health risks in south Lebanon.  BEIRUT - There have been up to 30 suspected cases of seasonal typhoid fever in Lebanon over the past six to eight weeks and more are expected, health experts said. “Of these, only 11 have been confirmed, but all are being closely monitored in hospital,” said Assaad Khoury, a department... [read more]

The United Nations Environment programme (UNEP) has issued a press release with the initial results of its facts finding mission to Lebanon indicating that no traces for depeleted Uraniaum were found in the country. The press release contains statements attributed to UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner   NAIROBI, 7 November, 2006 – The fieldwork of the post conflict environmental assessment... [read more]

The IDRC has published a new book entitled "People, Land and Water: Participatory Development Communication (PDC) for Natural Resource Management" which contains a number of case studies from Asia and Africa on communication for sustainable development. This book presents conceptual and methodological issues related to the use of PDC to facilitate participation amongst stakeholders in a variety... [read more]

In 2005 I participated in a regional research project supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation- Middle East office to develop a comparative study on the application of the UN Right to Water concept in four Arab countries; Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. Each country study aims to identify the scale of knowledge of and commitment to the UN concept in the region and is meant to identify the... [read more]

Source: The Daily Star    Anne Chaon Agence France Presse OUZAI: One month of Israeli bombardment during the war in Lebanon this summer created millions of ton of rubble, adding to the ecological nightmare of a country that has suffered a succession of conflicts. Even in normal times the main north-south coastal road was a handy dumping ground for rubbish, but now a dump of spectacular... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   By Charles Onians - KFAR ZABAD, Lebanon It was born in the Arabian desert more than 1,500 years ago and is now being revived in the battle-scarred greenery of Lebanon. Already its success is heralding a regional renaissance. The pre-Islamic system of environmental protection known as "hima" - Arabic for protected area - means that the local population rather... [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   BEIRUT - Two million residents of Lebanon, about half the population, could face health risks posed by toxic releases from Israeli bombing in the July-August war, Greenpeace warned on Thursday. "Chemical traces and dust from buildings that were destroyed have heavily contaminated the air and land," said the environmental pressure group Greenpeace in a report presented... [read more]

Source: The Daily Star By Lysandra Ohrstrom Daily Star staff Friday, October 06, 2006   BEIRUT: At least three international donors are considering using a portion of reconstruction aid to finance the installation of renewable energy units in newly built residences in Southern Lebanon. A project manager from the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) energy efficiency branch - which... [read more]

This is a press released by UNEP. For more UNEP resources on Lebanon's environmental disaster check www.unep.org/lebanon/    Beirut/Nairobi, 2 October 2006 - An international team of experts will tomorrow begin an assessment of the environmental damage in Lebanon caused by the recent conflict. The team, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and working in close cooperation... [read more]

From: Daily Star By Iman Azzi TABARJA: Most of the rainbows glimmering on the surface of the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lebanon are the unfortunate results of the attack by Israeli warplanes on the Jiyyeh power plant on July 12 and again three days later. However, a larger, bolder and more ecologically correct rainbow has now entered Lebanon's harbor, hoping to lend a hand, or a fin,... [read more]

    The Excellent Egyptian science writer Dr. Nadia Al-Awadi, winner of the first prize of the WASH (Water, sanitation and hygiene for all) media award in 2004 has just written a great article in Islam Online about Al Kabir River, linking the  Syrian- Lebanese borders and the threats the river is facing.   You can read the whole article here      [read more]

Source: Middle East Online   By Salim Yassin - BEIRUT         At Ramlet el-Baida, Beirut's only public beach, some 40 volunteers in bright blue protective overalls track and scoop residue of the oil slick which for two months has blighted the Lebanese coast. "They are full of goodwill, but they will need to double their numbers and work for months to clean the beach,"... [read more]

  During the last 10 years the "Environment & Development" magazine in lebanon proved to be the leading popular environmental publication in the Arab world. The monthy magazine, published by Mr Najib Saab secured its state as a verified and credible source of information, and a source of monitoring and evlauation of the performance of the Arab official environmental institutions. The magazine... [read more]

Source: The Jordan Times   By Hala Kilani BEIRUT, Lebanon — Toxic oil covering the sea-bed, black oil-covered beaches where endangered loggerhead turtles nest, dead algae on rocky shores normally feeding fish and other organisms — these are some of the first findings of a mission led by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to assess the impact of the Lebanese oil spill on species and coastal... [read more]

    This is another important article about the environmental impacts of the Israeli agression on Lebanon. This article is written by Arne Jernelöv and this is a re-post of the article published in the Jordan Times on Monday 21-8   In any war, the primary focus is on dead, wounded and displaced people. The number of people killed as a result of Israel’s offensive in Lebanon reported... [read more]

    After the UN security council resolution 1701 produced a much-needed ceasefire to halt the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, it was clear to many people that the magnitude of the environmental crises caused by the big oil spill at the Lebanese coast caused by the Israeli bombardement to oil storage tanks in Beirut airport is a matter of extreme urgency. Many international organizations... [read more]

Israel's criminal aggression against Lebanon has not only resulted in the great loss of innocent lives and destruction of infrastructure, hunger, thirst, diseases, and displacement, it has resulted in a severe ecological crises.   Here is a report from Rueters about the ecological crises in lebanon that was posted on July 28th.   Oil Spill Adds Ecological Crisis to Lebanon's Agony July... [read more]