Physical and Anthropogenic Challenges of Water Resources in Lebanon

Abstract

Challenges of water resources in Lebanon are well pronounced. Even though sufficient water resources exist and high precipitation is often recorded, Lebanon’s water is threatened by several physical and anthropogenic challenges that make it a country under water stress. This issue has been exacerbated in the last few decades. There are several studies, projects and even donations to enhance the status of water resources in Lebanon, but no remarkable progress has been achieved yet. This is attributed, in a broad sense, to unidentified figure of the hydrologic cycle accompanied with the lack of sufficient data and information upon which strategies and policies can be built for better management approaches. This study highlights the key issues of water problem in Lebanon including the existing challenges and their impacts. The existing challenges are not well understood by the decision makers, and often water shortage is attributed to undefined reasons. The approach in this study followed a number of indicative elements for data and information analysis. It utilized available records and time series, new techniques of remote sensing, as well as diagnosed previous studies and projects by the author. It introduces a clear understanding of the problematic issues of water resources in Lebanon, and then proposed the most applicable solutions for better stable water balance.