A house built illegally on the sand at Abu Ali public beach, in Kfar Abida. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — After several months of sustained efforts to preserve the public beach of Abu Ali in Kfar Abida, just south of Batroun, activists with the campaign "The Beach is for All" marked a new victory.
All structures that encroach on the beach should be demolished within a month, according to a decision issued Thursday after a meeting between the Ministry of Public Works, the General Directorate of Land and Maritime Transport, representatives of local authorities and activists.
"The Beach is for All" campaign was launched a few weeks ago when the tenant of an illegally-built house on the sand tried to block access to the beach by building a wall.
The campaign called for a halt to the development project — which was launched without a permit and without informing local authorities — and succeeded in having the wall demolished.
Activists also filed an appeal with the Ministry of Public Works to stop the existing violations of the public maritime domain.
"We do not know if this new decision will be applied, but if not, we will file a complaint with the courts," Mohammad Ayoub, the coordinator of "The Beach is for All" campaign, told L'Orient-Le Jour.
"We must remain aware of the encroachments on public space and continue to denounce them until the house, as well as all the barriers preventing access to this exceptional site for biodiversity, are destroyed," added the activist.
Legally, such encroachments violate Law 444 on the Protection of the Environment because they obstruct the view and access to the beach.
Since 1925, a decree prohibits any permanent construction on the public domain and the sectioning of the unity of the Lebanese coast from north to south.
According to Isabela Serhan, a researcher at the Beirut Urban Lab, affiliated with the American University of Beirut (AUB), local and national authorities regularly make exceptions to this law by granting long-term work or operating permits for development projects. These permits are often awarded to individuals with protection from or common interests with high-level politicians.
