Politician turned climate change champion Al Gore told The New York Times that “Once the world makes it clear that we are going to follow a roadmap to a low-carbon economy, the best-managed businesses will seek to race out in front of that emerging trend.”
In other words, as public awareness of the causes and consequences of environmental degradation increases with time, market demand for “green” products — those that are produced in an environmentally friendly way, and can be used without risk of environmental damage — will increase as well.
“The environment is no longer a burden on the market,” said Edgar Chehab, energy and environment program manager of the United Nations Development Project in Lebanon. “Now it’s part of being a competitive industry: if you don’t produce products in an environmentally friendly way, you lose out on key markets.”
In the last few years, markets in Europe and the United States in particular have demonstrated a willingness to pay more for green products, he said.
All over Lebanon, new “green” markets are expanding and old industries are modifying practices to soften their impact on the environment. While many environmental advocates argue that measures have not gone far enough, an overview of reforms indicates that individuals and industries have not been wholly unresponsive to the country’s environmental problems.
One man’s trash…
New industries are rising to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Among them is the recycling and composting industry, which seeks to capitalize on, rather than simply dispose of, solid waste.
Ziad Abichaker, president of Cedar Environmental, is one of a growing number of entrepreneurs turning recycling and composting into a viable business model.
“In Lebanon, 80 percent of municipal solid waste is organic, compostable material,” said Abichaker. “That’s roughly 3,200 tons of compostable garbage generated every day. After composting, that mass is reduced to around 1,750 tons.”
With one ton of high-quality compost selling for as much as $100, Abichaker said the economic viability of going green speaks for itself.
Cedar Environmental has built 11 material recovery facilities (MRFs), capable of handling close to 10 to 12 tons each of municipal solid waste per day, and a larger MRF for the Jbeil area capable of handling 200 tons per day.
The MRFs use a “Dynamic Composting” technique, in which an enzymatic bacterial component is added to organic waste to accelerate the degradation process that converts waste to compost. In this way, organic waste can be rendered safe — from a bacterial point of view — in three days, compared to the 90 days required by ordinary composting.
Inert materials such as glass, metal and plastic are recycled according to conventional methods, said Abichaker, adding that the profits gained from these materials are significantly less than those of compost.
“The real advantage of our MRFs is that they are modular,” he said. “We can bring them directly to communities, and place them in close proximity to where people live because dynamic composting is practically odorless.”
This also cuts down on transportation costs, he added.
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Living off the land
The environment itself is a valuable resource, and continues to directly sustain a significant segment of Lebanon’s population through small scale agricultural and fishing enterprises. However, both of these occupations face present and future challenges due to environmental degradation. Many experts predict that the agricultural sector will be the hardest hit by the effects of climate change in the years to come.
Another factor that impacts agricultural markets is the improper use of synthetic pesticides, a phenomenon that has received increasing attention from specialists and monitors over the last few months.
Researchers at the American University of Beirut’s (AUB) Faculty of Agriculture, as well as studies conducted by the Fanar research station in Mount Lebanon, noted the presence of pesticide residue above internationally tolerated levels.
The issue came to a head in November when produce exported from Lebanon was returned because pesticide levels were deemed unacceptable by destination countries.
Yusuf Abou-Jawad, professor of plant pathology at the AUB Faculty of Agriculture said educating farmers about the proper use of pesticides was the key to reducing residue levels.
“The major solution is to convince farmers to depend less on pesticides and to follow an integrated pest management approach or a rational use of pesticides,” he said.“If farmers start abiding by the preharvest interval [the waiting period necessary for pesticides to take effect and be rendered harmless] mentioned on the label of each pesticide [canister], the residue problem will be solved immediately.”
Living off the sea
The challenges faced by Lebanon’s coastal ecosystems, upon which the country’s fishing industry relies, may not be so simple to solve. The coastal waters face an array of harmful influences, from industrial dumping, municipal wastewater and, particularly, unsustainable fishing practices.
The Lebanon branch of the international organization Greenpeace has made the rehabilitation of coastal zones its top priority.
“In terms of biomass, the Levantine basin is the poorest region of the Mediterranean in terms of harvestable fish,” said Greenpeace representative and oceans campaigner Garabed Kazanjian. “At the same time, it is a very important region, as many types of fish come here to spawn.” This makes Lebanon’s coastal ecosystems particularly delicate to external influence, he said.
“It’s a vicious cycle,” added Kazanjian. “Overfishing reduces aquatic populations, so fishers have to turn to more destructive fishing methods — like small mesh nets — to catch whatever they can.”
Using small mesh nets traps young fish that have not yet reached maturity, destroying the new generations before they have had a chance to spawn.
To fight these issues, Greenpeace has launched a multi-fronted campaign to raise awareness of safe and sustainable practices among fishers.
“There’s already a big fear among fishers that their industry could be on its way to collapse,” said Kazanjian. “Even though we’re telling them they have to change — and even limit — their methods of fishing, most of the people we’ve talked to have welcomed our advice because they’re looking for a solution too.”
Kicking the oil habit
In 2008, the Lebanese Energy Society and the Lebanese Center for Energy Efficiency and Planning released a report, authored by engineer Chafic Abisaid, detailing the country’s current energy practices and potential for future expansion into renewable energy sources. It noted that thermal, solar, wind, hydroelectric and bioenergy technologies all have long-term potential in Lebanon, but that these remain distant possibilities as the country is still in the early stages of data acquisition.
Ronald Diab, general manager of the Energy Efficiency Group in Lebanon said that the realistic first step for Lebanon to reduce its energy consumption would be to optimize the efficiency of its industry and institutions.
“In terms of economically viable solutions, you need to develop utility-oriented projects,” he said.
“Besides some cases of using solar-thermal energy to heat water, most renewable energy technologies are not economically viable in Lebanon at this time…there is still a lot of preliminary research that needs to be done.”
On the other hand, improving existing infrastructure in order to maximize the benefits of energy consumed is an immediate first step to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, said Diab.
His group has performed more than 500 energy audits of companies and launched more than 80 energy efficiency projects since it was founded. Because it lowers costs, energy efficiency carries its own market incentive.
“The most important aspect at this point is regulation,” said Diab. “A lot of the products entering Lebanon — light bulbs, for example — don’t meet international standards of energy efficiency.”
And as long as energy is cheap, the consumer base isn’t going to exert its influence over the market to select energy-efficient products, he said.
While a steep reduction in the country’s consumption of fossil fuels may not be a feasible option in the short-term, awareness of the need for a transition to sustainable energy is growing steadily.
On November 19-20, the Arab Forum for Environment and Development convened to present its 2009 report on climate change and the possibilities of sustainable energy solutions.
The event brought together
major players from industry and non-governmental organizations, with governmental and public speakers.
While highlighting major areas of concern, the conference showcased a wide array of industry and public groups working to transition the Middle East to a more environmentally friendly future.
“It’s going to have to be an evolving process,” said Nabil Habayeb, president and chief executive officer of General Electric in the Middle East, who attended the event.
“Some things can be done now…others will take time,” he said. “Inevitably, we are going to phase out non-renewable resources — this is why leaders need to think ahead about how they will diversify their economies into new fields.”
