By Najib Saab, Issue 27, June 2000
Are we overstepping realistic boundaries by endorsing an environmental platform, in a country where elections are rarely accompanied by any program whatsoever, be it on politics, sociology, economy, education, or basic human rights, let alone environment?
We cannot advance through the new century unless we start taking the environmental question seriously. While not much has been expected from traditional candidates, it is indeed disappointing that environmental groups missed the opportunity to use parliamentary elections as a vehicle to promote national green programs. Those could have been put seriously for public discussion, and presented to aspiring candidates for adoption, as a condition to win green votes.
Environmental management measures cannot be separated from socio-economic development. Unstable societies, where people face a daily fight for survival, consider investing in the future a luxury they can ill afford. However, the cause of protecting the environment is gaining more public support. A survey conducted this year by Environment & Development magazine in Lebanon and 17 other Arab countries showed that the majority of respondents thought that protecting the environment was a major priority, and were prepared to pay higher taxes if those were designated to environmental management.
Therefore, before setting detailed environmental policies, national priorities should be defined, and socio-economic policies should be modified, in order to alleviate the negative effects on the environment. It is estimated that the medical bill to treat health problems related to air and water pollution in Lebanon exceeds 500 million dollars each year. Alarming figures from the health sector, let alone losses from environmental deterioration in other sectors, should be enough to convince policy makers that environmental management is not luxury, and not even a mere requirement for a better quality of life, but also a necessary economic measure. Economical losses resulting from environmental deterioration in the Arab world transcend all national growth figures.
Whereas sound economic policies are often good for the environment, such as lifting the subsidy on water, electricity and fuel to rationalize consumption, this is not always the case. For example, controlling industrial pollution is in most cases an expensive option, but is nevertheless a social price that has to be paid.
Few basic steps should precede the implementation of a viable environmental platform in Lebanon:
- Organize and activate the Ministry of Environment, to enable it to efficiently manage: environmental policies and strategic planning, laws and legislation, industry and consumer protection, wastes, international relations including treaties and organizations, noise pollution and traffic, water and agriculture, chemical and radioactive substances, air and energy, information and awareness.
- Establish the Higher Environmental Council, presided by the Prime Minister, to act as a decision-making body entrusted with setting cross-sectoral national environmental policies and authorized to take binding decisions.
- Install an Environmental Emergency Board, grouping the most distinguished professionals and cadre of environmentalists whose mission is to conduct, within three months, a comprehensive survey of all environmental initiatives and programs that had acquired international, bilateral or local financing, to assess position and outcome, and determine the possibilities of benefiting from them to avoid repetition. The committee also defines environmental priorities for the coming 12 months, to check deterioration until such a time that comprehensive environmental management programs have started to produce results.
- Establish the National Environment Agency, as a specialized scientific unit entrusted with monitoring the state of the environment, carrying out research covering natural, economic and social factors affecting the environment, and producing status reports, forecasts and recommendations. This will provide decision-makers with accurate data to develop viable policies. An ample budget should be designated to the Agency to perform its duties in cooperation with the National Council for Scientific Research, universities, private consultancies and specialized organizations. One of the Agency's responsibilities would be to coordinate and supervise internationally funded programs. This is the only credible answer to the lack of reliable environmental information, as the issue at hand is not limited to the collection of data, envisaged by some current programs, but the creation of this data. For how can we set a data bank on environment, if there are no research institutes producing the data in the first place?
- Adopt a national policy for the environment, which sets specific goals that allow for accountability and can determine successes and failures within a designated time frame.
- Constitute environmental boards within the municipalities, to initiate and manage environmental action at the level of local communities, and to promote rural development projects based on promoting environmentally friendly appropriate technologies, such as waste treatment by separation, composting and biogas production, encouraging organic farming, supporting renewable energy sources, and establishing rural development centers that execute these programs.
The environmental platform seeks to accomplish some specific goals:
LAND USE AND ZONING - Develop a master plan that defines different uses of lands, specifying residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, tourist and forest zones, according to modern scientific standards that balance the development needs and environmental requirements, defining the environmental characteristics of each region. With most of the country not covered by strict zoning regulations, permits to exploit land have become a lucrative political commodity, as politicians arrange permits to bribe their constituents. - Cease construction along the coastline and unzoned areas immediately until a master plan is developed, designating 80% of the coast for public use and assigning certain areas for forests and natural sites, where building is prohibited. - Impose waste water treatment obligation on all existing residential, commercial and tourist facilities along the coast. Sewage water produced by those should be treated on site instead of discharging it raw into the sea. - Put all illegal private coastal properties for public use within a designated time frame, oblige owners to open immediately for the public during a transition period, and demolish illegal structures that deface the coast within 24 months. It shouldn't be allowed to continue accepting the status quo created by some investors who confiscated beaches for private use in shadowy arrangements, and barred the public, including tourists, access to one major natural commodity of Lebanon. - Pinpoint all vacant lots of land in Beirut, and appropriate parts of them to be used as parks and public gardens, and promote gardens on roof tops and balconies in the concrete overpopulated city. This can be achieved through incentives such as offering permits for extra built-up area, provided that an equivalent area would be developed into an open garden. This gives a green vertical breathing room for city areas that lack any open horizontal space. The roof top gardens in Geneva are a good example of this approach, as well as the successful experiment of the green buildings around the Sofil intersection in Beirut.
AIR - Establish stations to measure the quality of air, especially in areas that are highly exposed to pollution resulting from industries or traffic. -.Set modern standards to determine permitted levels of emissions from cars and industries, and impose implementation through supervision, inspection and fines. -Apply a modern system for periodic inspection of cars, through a network of designated workshops, whose personnel could be trained to apply the required standards. This measure would also provide job opportunities for a large number of technicians, and at the same time reduce air pollution and guarantee the safety of passengers and commuters. - Promote unleaded fuel by decreasing its value by 10% for example, and increasing the value of leaded fuel by 10%, slash the taxes on cars that are equipped with a catalytic converter. - Modernize public transport and encourage its use. One way is to replace the cash transportation allowance applicable now by a monthly bus pass provided by the company. Rail and ferry connections should be seriously considered to facilitate communication between coastal locations, and thus ease traffic which is concentrated specifically along the coastal highways.
ENERGY - Allot a budget for scientific research on renewable energy, and produce an Atlas for the wind and the sun, as part of a feasibility study that designates the regions in Lebanon where these technologies could be efficiently applied. - Control energy consumption in private and public places, and launch a program to preserve energy, which would include subsidized measures such as: isolating walls, windows and roofs, using construction materials that are energy efficient, and developing standards for building material and methods which conserve energy. A study conducted by MECTAT, the research division of Environment & Development, showed that up to 40% of energy, used for heating and cooling residential apartments along the coastal zone of Lebanon, could be saved by using appropriate building material and methods. - Promote the use of solar energy to heat water in private and public places, and support local solar industries in this regard, with the goal of converting 50% of houses to solar water heating within 10 years. This would entail appropriate fiscal measures and tax incentives. - Establish pilot projects in rural areas to generate solar and wind energy, along with biogas, which is produced by composting organic wastes, especially in farms.
WATER - Conduct a detailed study for water resources, to expand availability and rationalize consumption. Access to clean water should be considered a basic right for every citizen. Currently less than half of the utilizable water is used. - Collect rainwater in artificial lakes, as well as family-scale reservoirs in village houses. - Reduce the losses in water supply networks and protect them from pollution by modernizing and proper maintenance. It is estimated that 70% only of the water pumped to Beirut reaches the consumers, while the remaining is lost in old pipes. - Recycle waste water for use in irrigation of public gardens.
AGRICULTURE AND FORESTS - Set standards for the use of pesticides, fertilizers and hormones. - Encourage organic farming and train the farmers to use natural methods, and support the marketing of organic farming produce through specialized cooperatives. - Establish village-scale industries for drying and preserving fruits and crops, using appropriate methods such as solar energy. - Transform sites of old stone quarries into agricultural terraces, complimented by a forestation program, at the expense of the parties that had exploited them, and conduct a feasibility study on importing rocks and stones from neighboring countries, to preserve the stressed Lebanese landscape. - Launch a national forestation program to cover 100,000 hectares over a period of 10 years. - Develop an integrated plan to manage forests, including protecting them from fires.
WASTE MANAGEMENT - Setting a national waste management plan that adopts integrated approach, and defines appropriate solutions for each region. Whereas modern incinerators may be best and least damaging in large cities, when the environmental impact of logistics is taken into account, there are cheaper and more efficient methods for rural areas. - Decrease the quantity of waste at the source and promote reusing and recycling, through practical systems and appropriate taxing measures. The aim should be to decrease domestic wastes by 30% in five years, and recycle 20%. - Establish a comprehensive system to return glass and plastic bottles used for soft drinks and water in order to reuse and recycle, including imposing tangible fees on empty bottles. - Promote appropriate technologies for waste treatment in rural areas, including composting and other environmentally friendly methods. - Establish waste separation "parks" in villages and small towns, where residents can dispose of their separated wastes, and introduce incentives to visit them, such as playgrounds for children. Those waste parks could be transformed into community educational centers for waste handling. - Set standards to minimize industrial and waste pollution. This entails adopting clean production technologies, which basically generate less waste, instead of end-of-pipe solutions. - Impose regulations for treating wastes such as tires and used oils from vehicles and other machinery, by forcing fines on old parts to finance recycling and proper treatment.
EDUCATION AND INFORMATION - Reinforce environmental programs in schools and endorse intensive training sessions for teachers on environmental themes and activities, and promote environmental school clubs. - Establish museums, natural history and environmental science centers, where the children and the general public could learn about nature and the environment. - Designate TV and radio time for environmental education. - Launch an environmental information plan that aims at changing individual attitudes and behavior towards specific issues affecting the environment, as personal action is a crucial step for a better environment.
Any viable environmental platform has to be integrated in a comprehensive socio-economic development strategy. However, continuing to use poverty as an alibi to neglect the environment would trap us in a viscous circle, as environmental deterioration and loss of resources leads definitely to more poverty and deprivation. The time has come to endorse an environmental platform with human spirit and sound economic ingredients. |
