| CAMP Lebanon |  |
Project area
The scope of the CAMP Lebanon extends from the South of Beirut, between Khaldeh and Sour (Tyre). CAMP Lebanon area occupies around 615 km2, or almost 6% of the overall Lebanese territory. However, as a coastline, the study area stretches 85 km, or 33% of the total coastline.
The project area is defined at two levels:
- the national coastal area located to the South of Beirut, the Capital, and
- the three municipalities of Damour, Sarafand and Naquoura, as the operational level
Major problems and issues
The Lebanese coastal stretch (extends over 210 kms) is characterized by quasi-homogeneity of the environmental problems encountered all along the shore with a main concern towards water resource pollution and urban expansion. Most of the coastal urbanization is located to the Northern Beirut, with a high density of industrial zones, private beaches and hotel resorts invading the remaining agricultural lands. The industrial sector is considered as a major source of marine and water sources of pollution. Around 20.000 units are located with many of them having no legal permits or located in industrial zones. Moreover, the scattered distribution of a larger number of industries all over the coast resulted in coastal settlements and lead to the privatisation of public domains and huge construction all along the shore. Tourism is concentrated mainly in Beirut and its surroundings in the form of summer resorts despite of the status of water estimated to be highly polluted. However, the privatisation of beaches and the devastation of the coastal area by huge tourist complexes as well as industrial plants are not helping in designing a sustainable touristic development plans on the coast.
Agricultural plots are gradually replaced by industrial and human development. To the South of Beirut, farm land is being reduced due to urban expansion, especially with the absence of a clear national policy to guide and enforce the domestic agricultural production. Land degradation is highly noticed. Coastal woodlands are reduced dramatically mainly due to overgrazing charcoal production and urbanization. Natural woodland vegetation remains in very few coastal areas, including slopes close to Kalb, Damour and Awali Rivers. Freshwater fauna is believed to be suffering from pollution given prevailing pollution of Lebanon's rivers. However, it is to mention that several coastal hotspots are of highly biological, scenery or natural values are worth to be subject to fast and deep conservation programmes.
The present regulatory and legislative tools in Lebanon are old and outdated. A framework law for an integrated coastal zone management is still lacking, being so far substituted by ministerial decisions promulgated to regulate sectoral issues such as solid waste management, quarries, and so forth. Overlapping duties among concerned institutions and the lack of proper enforcement and implementation mechanisms add to the degradation of the coast and its resources, as the protection and management of the coastal area are the responsibility of many ministries and public agencies. Added to that the administrative constraints that are constantly facing the civil servant staff, such as low salaries and weaknesses in some expertise dealing with environmental issues.
In short, the most important environmental problems and issues include the following:
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Lack of comprehensive integrated coastal area management plan and legislation;
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Fragmented and overlapping responsibilities;
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Old legal and regulatory framework;
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Civil Service staff limitations;
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Sprawl of industrial development outside designated industrial zones;
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Encroachment of tourist and urban development on agricultural land;
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Lack of integrated agricultural policy;
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Land and woodlands degradation;
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Sea water pollution from discharge of untreated domestic and industrial wastewater;
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Freshwater pollution risks and public health hazards from open solid waste dump sites;
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Air pollution in and around the main urban centres;
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Diffuse sector-focused external assistance project initiatives;
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Need for technical assistance and capacity building; and<
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Project implementation mainly adopts a “top-bottom” approach.
Project activities
After the preparatory activities have been finalised the Project Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Environment of Lebanon and the UNEP in April 2001. It defined the basic elements of the project including the project objectives and strategy, structure, its various phases and outputs, the project institutional structure, the activities to be implemented at project level, the funding and cost-sharing mechanism, the various institutions involved, the general workplan and timetable. In addition, basic elements of individual project activities are defined, as well as the achievement indicators, the monitoring and reporting procedure, and the post project activities to be implemented.
The envisaged project activities consist of:
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Integrated Coastal Area Management;
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Data and Information Management;
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Integrated Water Resources Management;
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Marine Conservation Areas Development;
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Integrated River Basin Management;
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Sustainable Tourism Development;
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Urban Management and Sustainable Development; and
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Participatory Programme.
Currently, the CAMP "Lebanon" is in its implementation stage, namely the Inception Report has been presented and discussed during the Inception Workshop hold in Beirut in May 2002. Technical Specifications for most of the activities were prepared and contracts signed. First reports are expected in autumn this year.
Expected results
Implementation of CAMP Lebanon will support the national and local-level efforts to appraise coastal resource conflicts and address emerging environmental degradation threats form diverse sources, within the context of a sustainable management strategy that also seeks to promote development objectives. It will help to incorporate environmental objectives in development priorities and environmental protection measures.
Implementation of CAMP Lebanon and introduction of a coastal management strategy will enable the national and local authorities to align development choices with resource conservation, and pursue development commitments in light of environmental protection requirements.
| MAP Technical Reports 160: MAP CAMP Project "Lebanon": Final integrated project document | |
 | ARD. 2003. CAMP Lebanon: Integrated Water Resources Management in CAMP area with demonstrations in Damour, Sarafand and Naqoura municipalities; Final Report. Split: PAP/RAC. pp. xii + 113. |
 | Owaygen, M. 2003. CAMP Lebanon: Tourism and Sustainable Development; Final Report. Split: PAP/RAC. pp. 63 |
 | Mehdi, S. 2004. CAMP Lebanon: Final report for Damour. Split: PAP/RAC. pp. 64 |
 | Mehdi, S. 2004. CAMP Lebanon: Final report for Sarafand. Split: PAP/RAC. pp. 54 |
 | Mehdi, S. 2004. CAMP Lebanon: Final report for Naqoura. Split: PAP/RAC. pp. 56 |
 | MEHDI, S. 2004. Coastal Area Management Programme (CAMP) Lebanon: Final Integrated Report. Split: PAP/RAC. pp. x + 253. |
Report of the ICAM Training Course. (Beirut, October 8-10, 2003) | |
MAP-PAP/RAC. 2001. Agreement relative to the Coastal Area Management Programme – the project for Lebanon. | |
 | El-Masri, S. 2003. CAMP Lebanon: Cultural heritage component; Final Report. Split: PAP/RAC. pp. 40. (Download Coastal Area Management Plan Final report.pdf / 241kb) |
 | MAP CAMP Lebanon: Inception Report, PAP/RAC, 2002, Split, pp. 54. ENG (Download Inception Report.doc / 1748 kb) |
