The Litani as a Link: Toward a Better Reconstruction in Lebanon

Authors

  • Author

  • Hussein Abdulmunim Amery

Keywords:

Litani River, Lebanon, Pollution, Water Management, Governance

Abstract

This study addresses the vital importance of the Litani River in Lebanon and the environmental challenges resulting from its severe pollution. An estimated 40 million cubic metres of untreated sewage is dumped into the river annually, exacerbating its deterioration. The study argues that Lebanon’s water crisis is deeply rooted in political fragility, inadequate governmental response, the sectarian political system, the aftermath of the civil war, and pervasive poverty. The study emphasizes the urgent need for sustainable development and balanced reconstruction in Lebanon, advocating for integrated solutions and effective water and land governance. The study highlights the importance of effective use of natural resources and the adoption of innovative technologies to bolster resilience against climate change. Proposed measures include remote sensing, improved rainwater collection, and enhanced soil humidity.

References

  1. Mouin Hamzé & Amin Shaban (eds.), The Litani River, Lebanon: An Assessment and Current Challenges (Cham, Switzerland: Springer International, 2018).
  2. A saying by Xi Jinping. See: “Taming the Waters: China’s Grand Canal is Full for the First Time in Decades,” The Economist , 14/5/2022, accessed on 6/12/2023, at: https://bit.ly/3uJ5tDA
  3. FAO, The State of Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture in The Near East and North Africa Region , Summary Report (Cairo: 2022), accessed on 4/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/47tTw30
  4. Hussam Hussein et al., “Syrian Refugees, Water Scarcity, and Dynamic Policies: How Do the New Refugee Discourses Impact Water Governance Debates in Lebanon and Jordan?,” Water , no. 12 (January 2020), p. 325; Talal Darwish et al., “Sustaining the Ecological Functions of the Litani River Basin, Lebanon,” International Journal of River Basin Management , no. 21 (February 2021).
  5. Hussein et al., p. 41.
  6. Kamal Salibi, personal interview, American University of Beirut, 3/6/1998.
  7. Samar Al-Hajj et al., “Beirut Ammonium Nitrate Blast: Analysis, Review, and Recommendations,” Frontiers in Public Health , vol. 9 (June 2021).
  8. “Chronology of Events: Lebanon,” Security Council Report (New York: 2022), accessed on 5/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/3Rdj4f4
  9. “Lebanon Economic Monitor: Lebanon Sinking (To the Top 3),” World Bank (Spring 2021), accessed on 5/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/49TjluN
  10. Sarah Abdallah, “Why Lebanon’s Largest Artificial Lake is Turning Green,” Al-Monitor , 20/8/2019, accessed on 6/12/2023, at: https://bit.ly/40Rg2Ap
  11. UNICEF, “Lebanon’s Water Infrastructure Struggles on, but Remains on the Brink,” 21/7/2022, accessed on 6/12/2023, at: https://bit.ly/47sh9sx
  12. “Lebanon Economic Monitor.”
  13. “Middle East Airlines Plane Hit by Stray Bullet While Landing in Beirut, no Injuries,” Reuters , 10/11/2022, accessed at: https://bit.ly/4a3LFL7
  14. Linda Sayed, “Sectarian Homes: The Making of Shiʿi Families and Citizens under the French Mandate, 1918-1943,” PhD. Thesis, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, 2013.
  15. “The Current Situation in Israel,” Central Intelligence Agency (US), ORE 68-49, 18/7/1949.
  16. Hussein Abdulmunim Amery, “A Popular Theory of Water Diversion from Lebanon: Towards Public Participation for Peace,” in: Hussein Abdulmunim Amery & Aaron T. Wolf (eds.), Water in the Middle East: A Geography of Peace (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000), pp. 121-149.
  17. Samia Nakhoul & Issam Abdallah, “Hundreds of Disillusioned Doctors Leave Lebanon, in Blow to Healthcare,” Reuters , 12/11/2020, accessed at: https://bit.ly/3MYSkwl
  18. “Lebanon Economic Monitor.”
  19. UNICEF, “UNICEF Is Actively Supporting the Lebanese Government Fighting the Cholera Outbreak,” 26/10/2022, accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/3T0t1xE
  20. Hamzé & Shaban (eds.).
  21. Hamzé & Shaban (eds.).
  22. Rodayna Raydan, “As Lebanon’s Electricity Crisis Deepens, Water Becomes Scarcer,” Al-Monitor , 12/6/2022, accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/40Y3MxO
  23. Hamzé & Shaban (eds.).
  24. Clare E. Aslan et al. “Coupled Ecological and Management Connectivity Across Administrative Boundaries in Undeveloped Landscapes,” Ecosphere , vol. 12, no. 1 (2021).
  25. Monika Egerer & Elsa Anderson, “Social-Ecological Connectivity to Understand Ecosystem Service Provision across Networks in Urban Landscapes,” Land , vol. 9, no. 12 (December 2020), p. 530.
  26. Y. Zhang et al., “The Concept, Approach, and Future Research of Hydrological Connectivity and its Assessment at Multiscales,” Environmental Science Pollution Research , no. 28 (August 2021), pp. 52724-52743.
  27. UNICEF & ILO, “Towards A Social Protection Floor for Lebanon, Policy Options and Costs for Core Life-Cycle Social Grants,” Policy Note (Beirut: March 2021), accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/3GfHOgf
  28. Sami Zoughaib, “Distorted Social Contract: The Dangerous Trajectory of Social Protection Systems in Lebanon,” The Policy Initiative , 4/11/2022, accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/3N1FQUz
  29. The World Bank, “Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Value Added (% of GDP) – Lebanon,” World Bank National Accounts Data and OECD National Accounts Data Files (2022), accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/46ATvJc
  30. FAO, “The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture - Systems at Breaking Point,” Synthesis Report (Rome: 2021), accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/47OVSJt
  31. Egerer & Anderson.
  32. The World Bank, Lebanon Economic Monitor: The Deliberate Depression , Document of the World Bank (Fall 2020), accessed at: https://bit.ly/40RR97L
  33. Hossain MD Anawar & Rezaul Chowdhury, “Remediation of Polluted River Water by Biological, Chemical, Ecological and Engineering Processes,” Sustainability , vol. 12, no. 17 (August 2020).
  34. Igor Lukšić et al., “Innovative Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals in The Countries of the Western Balkans,” Energy, Sustainability and Society , vol. 12 (February 2022).
  35. Marc Jones, “Foreign Creditors Urge Lebanon to begin Debt Restructuring Talks,” Reuters , 21/9/2021, accessed on 4/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/46vEOay
  36. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “OECD Stat,” 2001, accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/3SWqe8C
  37. Nuna Teal & Karl Burkart, “Regenerative Agriculture Can Play a Key Role in Combating Climate Change,” One Earth (June 2023), accessed on 6/6/2023, at: https://bit.ly/47NyY57
  38. The World Bank, “Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Value Added (% of GDP) – Lebanon.”
  39. Fawwaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon (London: Pluto Press, 2007).
  40. “Demand Lifts Lebanese Real-Estate Prices,” The Daily Star , 25/11/2010, accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/40V4Rqd; Hussein Abdulmunim Amery & William P. Anderson, “International Migration and Remittances to A Lebanese Village,” The Canadian Geographer , vol. 39, no. 1 (1995), pp. 46-58.
  41. Kareem Chehayeb, “Lebanon’s Financial Pains Eased by Remittances Over Holidays,” Associated Press , 22/12/2022, accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/4aaEwJg; “Remittances Grow 5% in 2022, Despite Global Headwinds,” Press Release , The World Bank, 30/11/2022, accessed on 6/4/2023, at: https://bit.ly/3Gj9UaK
Cover of العدد 18, Almuntaqa

Downloads

PDF (Hosted)
HTML

Published

2025-09-01

Usage statistics

37 views 70 downloads

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 018 (2025): Issue 018

Section

المقالات

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Almuntaqa

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.