26 September 2014

PRESS RELEASE

The Ministry of Environment releases the report:

'Lebanon Environmental Assessment of the Syrian Conflict & Priority Interventions'

Today, H.E. the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mashnouk, released the report: “Lebanon Environmental Assessment of the Syrian Conflict & Priority Interventions” at the Grand Serail, in the presence of Mr. Maciej Golubiewski, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. at the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon. This assessment was funded by the European Union through the "Support to Reforms – Environmental Governance (STREG)" programme implemented by the Ministry of Environment, and was technically supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It offers an unparalleled insight into the environmental situation in Lebanon and its trends, and shows that the environmental situation was already alarming even before the Syrian refugee crisis began, but is now deteriorating at a much faster pace. The report, prepared in the period between May and July 2014, covers the four main under-pressure environmental areas, namely solid waste management, water and wastewater management, air quality, and land use and ecosystems. It determines the incremental impacts of the Syrian conflict on each of these areas in the year 2014. It does not, however, account for the cumulative impacts since the onset of the Syrian conflict. In its conclusions, the report proposes 'Environmental Management Plans' for each area including recommendations of priority interventions and a timeline for their implementation. Both field and policy measures that could be integrated with the humanitarian response and with longer-term interventions are being proposed. This would improve the living conditions of Lebanese communities and Syrian refugees alike while being sustainable, equitable and in line with national policies.

Funded by the European Union

The proposed priority interventions were designed in a way to complement “Lebanon’s Roadmap of Priority Interventions for Stabilisation from the Syrian Conflict” of November 2013 prepared by the Government of Lebanon based on the World Bank led Economic and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).