A construction on a beach in Thoum, in North Lebanon. (Courtesy of NAHNOO NGO)
BEIRUT — The latest in a series of coastal encroachments in Lebanon, a construction project by the Azure Blue firm right on the edge of the shoreline in Thoum, North Lebanon, is paving the way for a new environmental transgression.
Images and videos posted on the Instagram page of NAHNOO, an advocacy platform for the participatory development of public policies, show backhoes (excavating equipment) at work, day and night, at the site in Thoum.
NAHNOO's director, Mohammad Ayoub, told L'Orient Today that the firm is building a new resort that would encroach on the coastline, despite a decision by the Public Works Ministry to "demolish" Azure Blue's encroachments.
Contested land
Ayoub said that the Azure Blue firm bought contested land in Thoum that bore "halted workshops" by the judiciary. This meant that land was cheap as it had multiple violations and limitations obstructing owners from building any projects on it, Ayoub claimed.
"This type of land usually attracts investors," especially those with powerful connections who can "sweep away the limitations" and "do whatever they want," Ayoub said.
Using a "maintenance permit," allegedly obtained by the company's owner to carry out works on a tent he set up, which he claims had been there since 1994, the investor started constructing "a resort, chalet, and a restaurant," Ayoub claimed.
"The maintenance license was granted under two conditions: it is forbidden to use concrete, and it is forbidden to encroach on public property; certainly, he did not abide by either," Ayoub added.
When contacted by L'Orient Today, one of Azure Blue's owners declined to answer our questions.
This is not new to Lebanon's coastline.
Violations of the maritime public property law have been a perennial issue, with developers using political connections to skirt regulations in order to gain the permits necessary to build and make profits from public space.
At least 80 percent of Lebanon’s 220 kilometers of shoreline is privatized, according to a study by the Institute of the Environment at the University of Balamand.
'A theoretical demolition decision'
The construction works in Thoum also violate Lebanon's Law 444 of 2002 on the protection of the environment since they involve obstructing the view of and access to the beach. Under a legally binding decree issued in 1925, any permanent construction on the public domain and the sectioning of the Lebanese coast is prohibited.
The project also contravenes the Madrid Protocol for Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean, which Lebanon ratified in 2017 and which prohibits construction on the coastal strip within a width of 100 meters.
The Public Works Ministry issued a decision on June 8, seen by L'Orient Today, to "demolish and remove … the real estates 177 and 202 in Thoum region," referring to Azure Blue's encroachments and citing the above-mentioned protocol.
The project started around the beginning of the summer, followed by a campaign by NAHNOO to demand the project be halted.
Launched in 2021, the “Coast For All” campaign, spearheaded by a group of organizations, including NAHNOO, activists and experts, demands the amendment of budget law 2017/64 with the intention to “confine public property occupancy rights to the state only” and restrict investors (individuals and private companies) from owning and exploiting public beach land at the public interest’s expense.
It also demands the end of inflicting environmental vandalism on regional waters and marine organisms’ habitats. The campaign also demands the eradication of all maritime public property violations, and the preservation of the remaining 20 percent land of the public seafront.
"But this project hasn't been demolished yet," despite the decision by the Public Works Ministry, Ayoub said. "Today, the minister did not give a demolition decision. He gave a theoretical demolition decision."
"There have been many [projects] built [on the Lebanese shoreline]. The question is, why were some people allowed to continue with their projects and some not, some who got their licenses revoked, and some who did not," Ayoub said. "We are failing to comprehend this double standard, and we do not understand how decisions are being taken."
Contacted by L'Orient Today, a spokesperson for the Public Works Ministry said he has no information on the issue, adding that after the ministry issues a decision, it is not its responsibility to follow up on its execution.
'Completely demolished'
In June, a campaign launched by an environmental association, Green Southerners, halted construction works that were feared to be for a new housing project on the Naqoura coast in southern Lebanon.
Ayoub had told L'Orient Today in June that a private landowner, who decided to backfill his land plot which had been eroded by the waves, was behind the project in Naqoura.
Hisham Younes, the head of Green Southerners, noted to L'Orient Today at the time that the association uncovered the activities after they established an environmental monitoring center aimed at detecting actions that could harm local ecosystems and wildlife. They also became aware that the Public Works Ministry had initially granted the project owners a permit for the backfilling.
After Green Southerners and other activists exerted pressure and started an online campaign against the project, caretaker Minister of Public Works Ali Hamieh issued a decision to halt the work and withdraw the permit.
Ayoub remarked that the recent mobilization by the Coast for All coalition to save the Abou Ali beach in Kfar Abida and against a similar project in Damour changed the balance of power.
On June 5, the major campaign Coast For All managed, using a court decision, to permanently demolish a house that had been blocking public access to the beach in Kfar Abida, North Lebanon, via iron stairs for years. Construction of a wall along the road in the locality and the renovation of the stairs were also permanently halted.
Ayoub confirmed to L'Orient Today that the encroachments on Abou Ali beach have indeed been "completely demolished."
However, in Kfar Abida and neighboring Thoum, this is not the only case of encroachment on public maritime property. Between the two towns, about half a dozen construction projects have been carried out in recent years without permits.
