Investigation – Part Two
The accelerating environmental degradation in Lebanon is a harbinger of a real catastrophe, while the relevant authorities remain reluctant to take decisive and immediate action to confront this deterioration, which has crossed all red lines, affecting the air, water, and soil, directly threatening human health and environmental safety. It has also cast dark shadows over Lebanon’s standing in environmental sustainability indexes, as the country’s environmental ranking has significantly declined both internationally and regionally.
Therefore, it has become necessary to conduct a comprehensive review of Lebanon’s environmental performance by utilizing international indicators related to environmental sustainability and seeking insights from experts and specialists to identify the causes of the worsening environmental crises and to establish an effective roadmap for addressing them.
Lebanon’s Ranking in Environmental Sustainability Indexes
Lebanon’s position has dropped significantly in global environmental sustainability rankings, most notably in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which is published every two years. This index provides a numerical measure of each country’s environmental sustainability performance and the extent to which it achieves its set environmental policy goals across 180 countries. The EPI is based on three main pillars: environmental health, ecosystem vitality, and climate change — each comprising several sub-indicators.
According to the 2024 Environmental Performance Index (published in June 2024), Lebanon ranked 124th globally out of 180 countries and 10th among 17 Arab states, scoring an overall index score of 40.1.
Regarding the sub-indicators, Lebanon ranked:
– 167th globally in terrestrial habitat protection
– 166th in species protection
– 161st in biodiversity and habitat preservation
– 117th in air pollution control
– 110th in adjusted sulfur dioxide emissions growth
– 159th in pesticide pollution risk
– 180th — the lowest globally — in nitrogen dioxide exposure
– 164th in sulfur dioxide exposure
– 155th in carbon monoxide exposure
– 162nd in methane emissions growth
– 136th in net carbon flux due to land-cover change
– 130th in projected cumulative carbon emissions through 2050
Lebanon’s Position on the 2024 Environmental Performance Index
Source: Environmental Performance Index, Yale University
Lebanon also ranked third on the list published by the organization “World of Statistics”, being the only Arab country among the world’s top ten most polluted nations. These figures highlight the fragility of Lebanon’s environmental situation, which stems from ineffective environmental policies, weak adherence to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and non-compliance with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015).
Addressing this monumental environmental crisis is impossible without consulting environmental experts, valuing their recommendations, and taking urgent corrective action to avoid irreversible consequences.
Lebanon Ranked Third on the World of Statistics’ List
Environmental Experts’ Insights on the Causes of Lebanon’s Ecological Failures
In statements to Silat Wassel , environmental expert and head of the Terre Liban Association, Paul Abi Rached, said that Lebanon’s environmental failures reflect the state’s inability to manage its affairs amid the dominance of sectarian parties and “mafias” operating under political and sectarian cover, whose priority is reaping profits and exploiting the country’s resources at the expense of the Lebanese people’s health and environment.
Environmental Expert: Paul Abi Rached
He pointed out several attempts at reform, noting that Lebanon witnessed massive protests in 2015 and 2019, triggered by the waste management crisis, as citizens accused the ruling political class of systemic corruption. However, nothing changed since these “mafias” remained more powerful.
Abi Rached added that despite these obstacles, there was some progress:
– In the 2016 municipal elections, several activists succeeded in joining local councils.
– In the 2018 and 2022 parliamentary elections, there were minor yet notable breakthroughs.
Nevertheless, the majority still view the country as a resource to exploit, destroying nature, seizing public properties, and undermining the nation’s environmental and social foundations.
Paul Abi Rached: “The rampant corruption in Lebanon has harmed the environment and citizens’ health.”
The environmental expert also stressed that the Syrian displacement has placed a tremendous burden on the state, exerting huge pressure on the environment and its natural resources, weakening infrastructure, and impacting water supplies, waste production, and land use. He directed sharp criticism at international funding organizations such as the World Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), accusing them of colluding with Lebanon’s corrupt political elite. He explained that despite being fully aware of the corrupt practices, environmental harm, and widespread legal violations committed by the ruling class, these organizations continue to provide aid to the government while turning a blind eye to the severe environmental breaches under the pretext of accommodating the large number of Syrian refugees and serving their own political and economic interests in the region.
He added: “Since 2020, environmental activists have succeeded in building a relationship of trust with security forces and some judges, which has enabled them to achieve several victories. We managed to confront various environmental violations by filing lawsuits and using all media platforms to expose the facts. We no longer rely solely on protests and media campaigns in our environmental struggle; instead, we now combat corruption through legal channels by submitting lawsuits against environmental violations — and we have already achieved positive results.”
Paul Abi Rached: “The ‘mafias’ still see the homeland as a resource to exploit, destroying nature in return and seizing the people’s wealth.”
Abi Rached pointed out that investments in clean energy in Lebanon remain modest, despite government initiatives to establish solar power plants to generate electricity. He stressed that dependence on fossil fuels remains excessively high, even though Lebanon possesses tremendous potential to harness solar and wind energy.
In statements to the “Silat Wassel” platform, environmental and media consultant at the Lebanese organization “Turning Point,” Mustafa Raad, said that the Lebanese government has failed, since the 1990s until today, to find a sustainable solution for the electricity production sector. He attributed this failure to total dependence on fossil fuels and the economic crisis since 2019, which has aggravated energy production issues, despite Lebanon’s significant potential to benefit from wind and solar power, given that the country enjoys around 300 sunny days a year.
Environmental and Media Consultant at the Lebanese Association “Noqta Fasla”, Mustafa Raad
Raad also highlighted a study conducted in 2017 by MP Dr. Najat Aoun Saliba, which revealed the presence of 9,000 power generators within Beirut’s administrative area alone — covering just 70 square kilometers — and around 30,000 generators across the entire country. He added that the energy sector is responsible for about 55% of Lebanon’s carbon emissions, according to the Fourth National Communication Report on Climate Change issued by the Ministry of Environment and the UNDP. He warned that these emissions pose a significant threat to public health, having already contributed to increased healthcare bills, particularly related to respiratory and pulmonary diseases affecting citizens.
Mustafa Raad: “Lebanon’s energy sector accounts for 55% of carbon emissions.”
Regarding the solid waste crisis, Raad explained that it has been a chronic issue since 1991, with successive governments failing to develop sustainable plans or implement effective solutions, despite having had some financial allocations in earlier years. He emphasized that political corruption has played a central role in perpetuating the crisis, citing the renewal of Sukleen’s contract as an example, where collusion and profit-sharing among political factions led to wasted resources and worsened the situation, according to reports from several media institutions.
Raad: “Lebanon’s economic crisis has led to a significant drop in the amount of waste generated.”
He also confirmed that many people resort to dumping waste into rivers and valleys, which pollutes surface water and threatens wildlife. Others, meanwhile, burn the waste as an easy disposal method. Raad warned that burning waste containing plastics releases highly toxic emissions into the air, causing visual, health, and psychological pollution. These emissions affect both children and adults — particularly patients suffering from allergies and asthma.
Raad praised the efforts of the Minister of Environment, Dr. Nasser Yassin, in the environmental file, as he contributed to supporting several initiatives, such as the “Darb Akkar” initiative in northern Lebanon, which works to reduce the outbreak of fires in Akkar’s forests, protect the forests from encroachments, and enhance biodiversity in the area.
He added: “The Minister of Environment is seeking to implement a five-year national strategy for waste management based on the ‘polluter pays’ principle, where taxes are imposed on companies and households in exchange for waste collection and treatment services. It also aims to promote the concept of a circular economy, which encourages reducing waste production, sorting it at the source, and processing what remains in recycling facilities.”
He pointed out that the economic crisis has led to a decrease in waste production, with the amount of waste generated dropping by about 30% according to the latest available statistics, due to the decline in individuals’ purchasing power.
Mostafa Raad: “Water pollution from sewage has led to the emergence of new invasive fish species in Lebanese waters.”
Regarding the sewage crisis, environmental media consultant Mostafa Raad warned of its dangers to the environment and public health, as domestic sewage mixes with industrial wastewater, causing serious problems for marine resources. He explained that this massive pollution has led to the appearance of new invasive fish species that migrated from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, altering the marine ecosystem and threatening local species.
He also referred to the cooperation between the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, the European Union, UNICEF, and the Lebanese Environmental Movement to restart and maintain 12 main wastewater treatment plants across Lebanon, out of a total of 87 plants spread across the country.
A Roadmap to Overcome the Environmental Deterioration
Environmental expert and President of the Lebanese NGO “Earth Association”, Paul Abi Rached, presented several proposals and recommendations to the “Silat Wassel” platform to address environmental issues and reduce failures in this field.
He emphasized that the United Nations and neighboring countries should realize that Lebanon holds strategic environmental importance for the entire region — from Palestine to Israel, Jordan, and Syria — as their waters originate from Lebanon.
Any environmental degradation in Lebanon, he warned, would negatively affect all neighboring countries and could even lead to future water wars.
He also stressed the necessity of providing international assistance to Lebanon to protect its environment, pointing out that Lebanon’s forests act as green lungs producing oxygen for the region, while its fertile soil supplies wheat and its mountainous terrain serves as a vital water reservoir for the entire Middle East.
Abi Rached highlighted the need for political reform, stressing that democracy, good governance, and environmental protection are interconnected.
He warned that the corrupt ruling elite is destroying the country’s natural resources.
He added that Lebanon must restore its railway system and develop a comprehensive public transport policy, gradually transition to electric cars, rehabilitate the national water network, regulate and nationalize the artesian wells sector as a public resource, and reactivate all wastewater treatment plants across the country.
Abi Rached also called for the implementation of the COP15 recommendations and the Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aim to protect 30% of Lebanon’s lands and seas by turning them into protected areas.
He urged the adoption of the Lebanon Mountain Peaks Protection Law, drafted by the Earth Association in collaboration with local and international legal experts and submitted to the Lebanese Parliament, as it is essential for securing the future of Middle Eastern water resources.
For his part, Mostafa Raad, environmental media consultant at the “Noqta Fasla” Association, stressed the need for collective efforts at both the national and individual levels, making the following recommendations:
Increase official efforts to comply with international environmental agreements, especially the Paris Agreement 2015, which includes key commitments to be implemented by 2030.
Obtain financial and technical assistance from international donors to restore the air quality monitoring networks under the Ministry of Environment, which have been inactive since 2019 due to financial constraints.
Support the transition to solar energy and reliance on green power by reducing taxes on imported solar panels, establishing a mechanism that allows citizens to sell surplus energy back to Electricité du Liban, and repairing the national electricity grid across the country.
Ensure cooperation between relevant ministries — including the Ministry of Energy, Water, and Environment — while imposing taxes and penalties on polluters for air, water, and soil contamination, along with raising public awareness on pollution hazards.
