Battle against oil slick awaits ceasefire

08 August 2006

Two days after the start of the war, an environmental crisis struck the Lebanese southern coast. With emergency plans unable to swing into action without a ceasefire, the disaster now threatens the Eastern Mediterranean coastline.

The Jiyeh Power Plant reservoirs, located 30 km south of Beirut, were the target of Israeli bombs on 13th and 15th July resulting in their complete destruction and release of the oil into the sea. Three weeks after the strike, the fire still burns and the thick oily layer continues to invade the sea.

More than 15,000 tons of heavy fuel oil have been spilled, destroying all types of maritime biodiversity and life along 70km of the northern Lebanese coastline,

tourism and fishing industries in the region will be severely affected

and threatening to reach the seas of Syria and Turkey. Besides the environmental threat, tourism and fishing industries in the region will be severely affected and there are concerns for health as well.

The Lebanese Ministry of Environment (MoE), along with active environmental NGOs, has taken immediate action to assess what needs to be done to

the country has minimal capacity to deal with a disaster on this scale

mitigate the impacts of the spill. Small scale pilot clean-up attempts were initiated but unfortunately were not successful and the country has minimal capacity to deal with a disaster on this scale. Therefore, the MoE has requested technical assistance from the some neighboring countries and technical organizations.

The Jordanian and Kuwaiti governments have extended technical supports. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has called upon its expert teams, particularly from REMPPEC (Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response

none of these international relief teams can access the disaster zone whilst the state of war with Israel exists

Center for the Mediterranean Sea), for technical advice and assistance. Italian and French institutes specializing in such environmental pollution, like CEDRE in France and ICRAM in Italy, have standby experts and resources available. But none of these international relief teams can access the disaster zone whilst a state of war with Israel exists.

With every day of inaction, the oil spreads further and seeps deeper into beaches and rocks. Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, revealed his concern that the oil spill is becoming an environmental tragedy which is rapidly taking on a national but also a regional dimension. A ceasefire is desperately needed on environmental as well as humanitarian grounds.

The cost of the clean-up operation is already estimated at tens of millions of euros. Who is accountable? Who is to pay for the crisis? Certainly, it is difficult to reconcile Israels assertion that it has no quarrel with the Lebanese government with the destruction of key sectors of the countrys economy and its maritime environment.
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Kassem El-Saddik, MSc is a Lebanese environmentalist and volunteer editor contributor to the OneWorld Guides programme

Links:

UNEP response
Green Line response (environmental NGO in Lebanon)
Potential impacts of the disaster - from the Lebanese Ministry of Environment

OneWorld Lebanon Guide
Latest OneWorld news on the crisis in Lebanon