LebEnv #26

ENVIRONMENTAL BRIEFS FROM LEBANON

by Fareed Abou-Haidar

"Minister of the Environment Akram Shehayeb told a delegation from Koura that he will not permit a quarry in Metrit and what harms Koura harms Aley and Mukhtara". Good news indeed! When was the last time a Lebanese official said "NO!" to an environmentally-destructive project? The Koura area in particular has had more than its share of land destruction and heavy air pollution, thanks to the cement and Eternite (Read: Asbestos) factories and quarries. (Apr. 2, 1997)

The government may approve new guidelines for rock quarries. Rock quarries would be allowed in Baasir, Sibline and Alman in the Shouf; Reit, Dahr el-Baidar, and Tufeil; as well as Sir and Bkaasifrine in the North, and Roum and Kfarhoune in the Jezzine area. Minister Walid Junblatt went even further, saying that a small country like Lebanon that uses a lot of rock would be justified to import rocks from abroad. Not a bad idea. If that is not feasible, limiting the damage to barren areas (which some of the ones above are; I am not familiar with others) is a good idea. The next step will be, I hope, to rehabilitate the areas where quarries have closed. Example: the area around Mseilha Castle near Batroun. (Feb. 22, 1997)

Agriculture Minister Shawki Fakhoury announced a plan to increase Lebanon's "green areas" (presumably forests) from the current 6 percent to 20 percent. The European Union will finance the protection and development of forested areas: Hadath el-Jibbeh and Qanat (site of a lesser-known Cedar of Lebanon forest), the western Bequa'a (a verdant area which has thousands of now-mature trees planted by the government's Green Project before the war), and Faraya-Jabal Mousa in the Keserwan (an area of spectacular rocks, steep forested slopes, and... numerous rock and sand quarries). Here's hoping this is just the beginning! (Feb. 21, 1997)

The World Bank is loaning Lebanon $53.2 Million, to be repaid over 17 years, to fight water and marine pollution and rebuild sewage and water networks in Saida, Sour, Nabatiyyeh, and the Keserwan. Perhaps some day we will be able to swim in the Mediterranean again! (Feb. 21, 1997)

Hamra Street in Beirut is trying to promote itself as a revived major shopping area by staging nightly street music festivals on a temporary stage in front of Cinema Strand. It is always good to have a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly commercial area for people to come to; this would make it less desirable to develop in distant areas accessible only by car. Despite the wartime deterioration of Hamra Street, it remains, in my opinion, the most intimate, pedestrian-friendly, shopping area in sharp contrast to the newer areas where six-lane divided highways and poorly-planned sidewalks (if they exist at all) make for a dangerous, unpleasant experience. (Feb. 18, 1997)

Four-hundred Lebanese scouts planted 8800 plants along the Damascus highway on the border between Lebanon and Syria. (Feb. 18, 1997)

(All the above new pieces were derived and adapted from items that originally appeared on the Lebanon.com web site in recent weeks).

The following item appeared in LebEnv # 26:

Hamra Street in Beirut is trying to promote itself as a revived major shopping area by staging nightly street music festivals on a temporary stage in front of Cinema Strand. It is always good to have a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly commercial area for people to come to; this would make it less desirable to develop in distant areas accessible only by car. Despite the wartime deterioration of Hamra Street, it remains, in my opinion, the most intimate, pedestrian-friendly, shopping area in sharp contrast to the newer areas where six-lane divided highways and poorly-planned sidewalks (if they exist at all) make for a dangerous, unpleasant experience. (Feb. 18, 1997)

I have received feedback regarding the above item from someone who was staying in a nearby hotel at the time of the concerts. Unfortunately, the loud music continued late enough that people were deprived of sleep and the hotel owner had to resort to bribe so that the music would be limited to the hours of 7-11 in the evening. Also, speakers have been set up on light posts to play music of the Muzak kind at all times.

It is unfortunate that the efforts to improve Hamra seem to have instead reinforced the lower level it reached during the war, as I gather from the above information. Instead of a large, loud concert, smaller and more intimate ones at reasonable hours should have been planned. While low-volume, background music may be acceptable in enclosed shopping malls, Muzak on an outdoor street can only be described as "tacky" and is unnecessary noise. Instead of loud music concerts, perhaps a better idea would be a Lebanese arts-and-crafts festival along the sides of the street (with cars temporarily banned); this was done on nearby Mak'houl Street for a couple of years during the war. In Tempe, Arizona, such festivals have proved to be a huge success.

Also, in case it was not made clear, Hamra is pedestrian-friendly only in the sense that it is not as bad as the newer areas (such as the Antelias boulevard), and in the sense that it has the potential for improvement by controlling car traffic or eliminating it entirely as was once proposed before the war. The sidewalks, news kiosks, cafe trottoirs and store windows are already there. What is needed is the will to bring it back up to the class it had attained before the war.

If you go to Beirut and shop Hamra, please comment to store owners that the Muzak music is not such a sound idea, and that it needs to go. Make the same comments if the loud concerts are still taking place. Perhaps a committee of Hamra area business people need to visit some of the pedestrian shopping streets in other countries such as France, or to the recently restored pedestrian downtown of Zouk Mikhael, for fresh ideas.