Neither the cold weather, nor the increase in drought, nor the increase or decrease of rainfall… are decisive signs that the climate has changed. A study by the former Dean of Engineering at Jesuit University, Dr. Waidi Negma, presented yesterday to the Ministry of the Environment, showed that the average rainfall since the beginning of its measurement in Beirut (airport station) has not decreased. changed! He also pointed out that the areas of snowfall at altitude, according to satellite measurements, do not change either! The same applies to river level measurements that began in the 1930s, has not changed! So what has changed in the conversation about climate change?

The “sudden” changes in the aforementioned study were related to the rate of temperature rise. According to temperature measurements from 1965, by 2021 it will rise by 3 degrees Celsius. Compared to the latest international report (2021), which showed a 1.1 degree increase in temperatures around the world since the industrial revolution, the 3 degree temperature increase in our region is a sign of massive change. It will affect any and all life and its systems, and rising temperatures in a country with a changing ecosystem like Lebanon is a very dangerous indicator based on which it must change all the policies that Lebanon knows over half a year. century, especially its water policy.and ways to protect biodiversity.
The workshop, which brought together Lebanese leading scientists, administrators, experts and advocates for water resources, recommended that ecosystems be respected in water projects as a human right, not a commodity. He also called for the need to consolidate data and measurements to create an information base that is accessible to all, and that its collection center is located at the Ministry of Energy and the Central Statistical Office, and that it is put on an open information platform. He also called for the inspection of underground wells, especially illegal ones, and fines for violators, the application of existing laws on the protection of resources and the proper management of basins and the needs to develop plans for this and adhere to the principles of integrated water resource management. and prioritize strategies to control use in all sectors and justify consumption as a priority for the construction of surface dams, and the consideration of waste generation in networks and wastewater treatment is also a priority compared to large and expensive investment projects. These recommendations are the result of an in-depth dialogue in which several studies have been presented indicating the need for the participation of the Ministry of Environment in the review of all water resource plans.
Many events have taken place in the body of water over a quarter of a century, and the Ministry of the Environment has never officially announced its position to them. The company was also instructed to conduct a strategic environmental review of its water policy in 2012, which was not comprehensive, strategic and not subject to meaningful discussion. After the resurrection of the Bisri dam at the penultimate cabinet meeting, in addition to re -proposing funding for the Brisa dam (at the previous meeting), which failed to collect water, a ministerial committee was formed to re -examine the issue, including the Minister of the Environment, who has not been met!
For the first time, a comprehensive and in -depth discussion can begin with the Ministry of Environment about this important resource, which is dangerously dirty and has a dangerously high price for its insurance. All past experiences and failures in protecting this resource.
The Lebanese water management scene has always been occupied by conflict between water investors, not by conflict, but by the state’s responsibility to protect this resource, its proper and equitable distribution. The conflict between investors in the construction of surface dams and investors in drilling underground wells to provide water has been reduced. Only two options for managing this resource are destructive and do not reflect strategic thinking and decisions that are far from investment interests. The role of the state and the Ministry of Natural Resources in particular, and before the Ministry of Water Resources, is to remind that water is part of the ecosystems that make this resource constantly evolving, and any plans that conflict in ecosystems this is not valid. and should be avoided. This is the basic principle that should be applied to strategies, plans and laws, which state that water is a public good and a right of every human being, just like air.
Therefore, it is necessary to first examine the nature on which the approach is based.Since the 1970s, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources has stopped conducting systematic and comprehensive surveys and measurements of available surface water, and no longer knows whether how much groundwater is abstract, when the number of unlicensed and controlled private wells exceeds ten times the number of licensed ones ?! How can we talk about the scarcity and the need for expensive dams, if we don’t know the exact amount of water flowing from the springs, or the amount of water taken from underground, or what is bottled and traded here, or where the owner of the “citrine” they carry water all year round, and why is there water in the “citrines”, but not in the taps ?! And if sewage is considered the number one cause of fresh water pollution in Lebanon, then why didn’t the strategy prioritize solving this problem, rather than building dams, in addition to solving the problem of waste in network, theft and trade in different ways ?!
Historically, the Department of Energy and Water Resources has ignored calls to combine water with energy and food, and has also ignored calls to consider a water strategy as part of a sustainable development strategy that considers- considering the relevance of these resources to their use at all. sector and maintaining their sustainability. Moreover, the ministry concerned did not adhere to the simplest management principles, which are based on the protection of resources, ensuring the compatibility of management projects and investments in ecosystems, and the principles of protection of the rights of future generations. generation to access them clean, mineral, healthy and environmentally friendly. Isn’t it time to rethink the role and activities of ministries, such as integrating water into ecology and being a special ministry for energy, so that water returns to its streams as a right, and not a commodity, without dams and privatization?
Snow in March this year is very important for rising surface water and groundwater. Threatened due to pollution, bad policies and plans, climate change and…, this important resource will grow in importance in the next stage to an extent that its management should not be left to the discretion of geologists, hydrogeologists, engineers. dam, merchant. , international financial funds and large companies… alone.