Lebanon : Country Environmental Analysis

After the post-war reconstruction period that started in 1990-1992, Lebanon made spectacular improvements to repair the scars of the wars by investing heavily in public infrastructure, roads, highways, airports and harbors, communications, commerci...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: World Bank
Format: Country Environmental Analysis (CEA)
Language:English
Published: World Bank 2012
Subjects:
BOD
GAS
MSW
OIL
WTE
Online Access:http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000356161_20110608023457
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2757
Description
Summary:After the post-war reconstruction period that started in 1990-1992, Lebanon made spectacular improvements to repair the scars of the wars by investing heavily in public infrastructure, roads, highways, airports and harbors, communications, commercial estates, and high and middle income housing. The environmental neglect had an impact on the economy and resulted in a degradation amounting to US$ 565 million in 2000 or 3.4 percent of Gross Domestic product (GDP) for local environment and US$ 655 million or 3.9 percent when global environment is included. Environment has remained a secondary priority, characterized by an uncompleted legal and institutional framework as well as by ineffective policies to address the challenges and political constraints to deliver reforms. These challenges are: 1) regional disparities in poverty levels are significant; 2) wastewater connections covered 66 percent of households in 2007, but wastewater treatment is lagging behind; 3) municipal solid waste collection seems to have been resolve, whereas disposal remains a persistent issue; and 4) Lebanon's natural heritage is being impacted. In order for Lebanon to meet its environmental challenges, changes are needed in the way it manages its social and economic development as well as in the way it makes choices among competing issues and priorities.