By Najib Saab, Issue 14, September-October 1998

The implementation of the national reconstruction plan in Lebanon has kept the government's attention focused on economic, and to a less degree social development. This was a necessary path to provide basic infrastructure, end the state of war, secure the foundations of peace, achieve stability and rehabilitate public institutions.

Unfortunately, too much time was wasted dealing with the by-products of the civil-war, that other areas of interest were nearly neglected. This also meant that young people, who did not join the ranks of militias, felt isolated and were not given the chance to play an active role in the reconstruction efforts and the political life of the country. One of the important areas that have been neglected was the environment, as it only received token attention, and the Ministry of Environment restricted itself to folkloric activities. The Ministry of Environment has failed to transform into an institution. Was it a lack of resources, or lack of knowledge, goodwill, imagination, or all those combined?

It is high time that the government launches a national environmental policy augmented by a concrete programme, to be promoted alongside socio-economic plans. The argument supporting this approach is very strong:

-          A sound environmental management policy is not only essential for building a modern state but answers one of the basic rights of future generations.

-          Moreover, conservation of the environment is an issue that unites people and consolidates civil peace.

-          Environmental concerns have attracted attention and people are growing more worried about pollution and depletion of resources. This is why a genuine environment policy would be attract public support, and strengthen the confidence of the Lebanese in the future.

-          Environmental protection is likely to remain a basic issue in international relations, and environmental management projects can draw international backing and financial support.

-          It is noted as well that safe environmental management policies are no longer incompatible with economic growth. The success of such policies throughout the world has definitely shown that environmentally-sound policies can support national economic policies, since the environment is considered, along with the quality of life, valuable commodities in modern living.

Environment is a technical, legislative and social pursuit. Therefore, the state should promote a national plan for environmental management which exceeds the national level to constitute an effective marketing asset on the international scene. Unfortunately, no such national scheme has seen the light of day yet. Instead, there were some random initiatives based on limited and repetitive international environmental programs, which are selectively implemented without any coordination and supervision, due to the absence of an effective environmental institution.

The only way a national environmental plan can really take off is through a work team whose members can operate in harmony, have sufficient scientific know how, expertise, technological skills and international experience, and are motivated towards achievement and success. Moreover, as a serious the national socio-economic plan has no chance to succeed through the traditional methods that were inherited from the civil war era, similarly, the national environmental policy can only succeed through the cooperation of a work team whose members are committed to the institutional mentality of the state. This is especially necessary now due to the absence of competent state environmental institutions and environmental policies, with the whole environmental issue being handled through isolated initiatives that are not inter-linked by any comprehensive work program.

There are three main tools that ensure an efficient national environmental program:
1- Law and legislation: which should be constantly updated to cope with the scientific progress and to prevent further deterioration of the environment. Legislation is meant to put tough restrictions on the industrial, construction and consumer sectors as well as on environmentally harmful life-styles, to guarantee that these activities are environmentally safe. Such legislations require effective means of implementation.

2- Financial measures: these can take the form of taxes and fiscal incentives. For instance, taxes constitute deterrent measures aimed at preventing the producers and consumers from causing harm to the environment. Incentives, however, are measures that may include either material support or tax concessions aimed at propagating environmentally-friendly production and consumption methods, as well as alternative growth patterns that safeguard the environment.

3- Information, communication and education: are areas of major importance for the implementation of a comprehensive national environmental plan. In this connection, mass media can help make citizens aware of their responsibility towards the environment and in seeking public support for the state's environmental protection measures. The media can also promote open dialogue on environmental topics, as a prelude to an interactive multi-directional exchange of ideas. Such media campaigns can promote appropriate patterns of behavior on the part of the public, through highlighting the positive effect on the environment that personal action can have.

The ministry of environment should have jurisdiction over major environmental issues with global character, and coordinate specific environmental policies and activities of other government institutions. Various sectors are associated with environmental protection, including: industry, agriculture, transport, communications, power generation, water networks, pumping, building construction, roads networks, land-use, refineries, sewage treatment, research institutions and universities, non-governmental organizations and consumers at large.

Some governments have attempted to achieve environmental coordination among various ministries by setting a central higher environmental council headed by the prime minister. Thus environmental measures affecting more ministries can be issued at the level of the prime minister not the ministry of environment, avoiding friction between government bodies. With the prime minister on top, the higher environmental council could endorse measures that carry more political weight, which is essential for the implementation of environmental policies.

In other instances, governments have sought to provide the ministry of environment with more executive power and to cut down on the expenses at the same time, through merging the ministry of environment with another ministry which is also involved in environmental work. This led to combinations such as: ministry of health and environment, agriculture and environment, planning and environment. In Lebanon, there is talk about merging the ministry of environment with that of municipalities, a structure already applied in Jordan and the Sultanate of Oman. This may not necessarily be the ideal solution in the Lebanese case. Here, the ministry of municipalities deals with day-to-day affairs such as garbage collection, while the activities associated with the ministry of environment belong more to the realm of planning and general policies. If the ministry of environment is merged with the ministry of municipalities, the environment officials may have to get deeply involved in solving day-to-day affairs at the expense of long term planning and policy-making. One successful model to be applied in Lebanon might be that of the Netherlands, with a ministry of spatial planning, housing and environment.

A ministry of planning and environment may include two general directorates: one for urban planning and the other for the environment. The environment division may include the following departments: environmental policy and law, air and energy, water and agriculture, industry and consumer protection, natural reserves, waste management, planning and research, information and public awareness, and international organizations.

The department of international organizations is pivotal, as it oversees that projects planned by international organizations comply with the ministry's general policies and fall within its priorities. Hence, it is no longer accepted that international environment programs be gathered haphazardly, subject only to priority scales laid down by employees of donor international organizations. As an example of such chaotic behavior, over sixty thousand dollars were drawn from a European Union fund for environmental projects to be spent, instead, on a study of so-called Emergency Plan for the Metn region. The study recommended fire stairs in buildings, was considered environmental, and was later shelved alongside dozens of similar pointless surveys. Another survey of industries conducted for the ministry of Environment at the cost of some one million dollars was so chaotic that it is now used as an example of bad work in regional and international meetings. Some other "environmental" studies are often repeated and the cost charged to various organizations without any coordination or supervision or any body noticing the overlapping.

Lebanon can only be brought back as a major regional player through developing its education, scientific research, engineering and technological capabilities. It is essential that the Lebanese national scientific infrastructure be reconstructed as soon as possible, and that adequate and up-to-date scientific research institutions be created. Scientific research is Lebanon's gateway to a renewed regional role. And Lebanon is sufficiently qualified to play this role. Environmental research and management is a growth sector where Lebanon can develop an export market. It might be necessary here to introduce National Environment Agency, an independent scientific institution which would be in charge of environmental studies, research, evaluation and assessment. Such an institution would have the dual function of conducting environmental scientific research and acting as environmental audit bureau.

It would cooperate with the National Council for Scientific Research, universities and private consultants, for the purpose of compiling specific reports on the state of the environment, and setting environmental protection standards. The scientific nature of the suggested agency should not create any impediment to the ministry of environment. Instead, the National Environment Agency would supply the government with the necessary information needed to devise policies and regulations, for viable policies can only be based on accurate data.