State of land and water resources in Lebanon
Lebanon, about 1 million ha in extent, borders on the Mediterranean sea in the west; on Syria in the north end east; and on Israel in the south. The country is divided administratively into six governorates: Beirut, North, South, Bekaa, Mount Lebanon and Nabatieh.
The country has a Mediterranean climate with dry, mild summers and wet winters. Average annual precipitation ranges from 200mm to more than 1 500mm locally in the mountains. The average yearly temperature is 18ºC.
The population in 1998 is estimated at 4.2 million (within Lebanon; plus around 6 million abroad. Population density is about 400/km². The civil war between 1975 and 1991 seriously damaged the economic infrastructure, but peace since then has enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, and collect taxes and regain access to key port and government facilities.
The gross domestic product at purchasing power parity is 16.2 billion US dollars, GDP at 4 500 US dollars per capita and the real GDP growth rate one percent.
The agriculture sector has played a diminishing role in the Lebanese economy since 1960, but unfortunately its share for the GDP has declined from 12 percent to 8 percent at present time with a corresponding decline in agricultural labor 38.3 percent to 7 percent. At present Lebanon is an exporter of fruits and vegetables and self-sufficient in poultry. It produces 15, 45 and 10 percent of its wheat, legumes and sugar needs respectively, and 22 percent of its consumption of dairy and meat products.
Lebanon is made up of four physiographic units: the coastal plain, a narrow fertile plain less than 5 km wide; Mount Lebanon, east of the coastal plain; the Bekaa valley, 8-10 km wide; and the Anti Lebanon ranges along the border with Syria.
About half of the total area is suitable for cropping. A green project was established by the government for rehabilitating the agricultural lands. There are ancient terraces used for fruit trees and other crops adapted to high elevation. But there is a tendency to extend agriculture into areas of very low suitability.
Chadi Abdallah, |
In Lebanon there are 15 major rivers, with a total discharge of about 4 billion m³/year. The twelve coastal rivers are characterized by small catchment areas of about 200km², small length < 50km and a general direction EW. The three inner rivers are shared rivers with neighboring countries, but all are discharging from the Lebanese territory. The Litani river is the biggest river in Lebanon, with a catchment area about 2 500km² and average discharge 630 million m³/year.
Springs are widely distributed in Lebanon: there are about 2000 major springs. A realistic estimation of water volume from these springs is 1 150 million m³/year. They are the major source of rivers waters and play an important role in the agricultural sector.
Ground water is abstracted by about 2 500 wells tapping the major regional aquifers. The depth of these wells varies between 50 to 300 m, the average discharge is 35/sec/well. Total ground water abstraction is estimated at 1 360 million m³/year. Overpumping from these wells is considered as the major reason for saltwater intrusion.
Along the coastal stretch, there are around 60 submarine springs. Fifteen are offshore springs, the rest are littoral ones. These submarine springs play an important role in the Lebanese water budget and are considered to be a non-conventional water source. A general estimation of water volume averages about 600 million m³/year. Different reports estimate that only 67 000 ha of the cultivated 240 000 ha are under perennial irrigation, 42 000 ha of which are irrigated by surface water and 25 000ha by groundwater and 20000 ha are seasonally irrigated. Irrigation is usually done by furrow, but in private farms where groundwater is available new pressurized techniques in irrigation have been adopted.
Hot spots in Lebanon are mainly natural and to a certain extent man-made. Large areas are subject to various hazards, some sudden, others gradual, for example land degradation or groundwater depletion.
Bright spots are uncommon in Lebanon. They are principally human-made, while natural spots are rare. Examples of these bright spots are land-related (terraced lands, rehabilitated rock lands, natural protected sites, etc) and water-related (such as inaccessible springs, streams and lakes in the remote mountainous region, man-made ponds).
The full Lebanon country report is available at the Gateway Web site:
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGL/sw1wpnr/sw1wpnr.htm
