Citizen Lebanon

KAROUN LAKE (Issue 12, Oct 2009)
Located in the West Bekaa Valley along the shores of the Karaoun Lake, the village of Karaoun is distinguished by exquisite natural scenery. The Karaoun Lake, artificially created in 1959 to provide both water and electricity to the entire region, has become a renowned destination, attracting local and international tourists alike.

But the Karaoun Lake’s beauty and usefulness are plagued by unacceptable levels of pollution since waste is dumped into the water every day. This unfolding environmental crisis drew the attention of the Citizen Lebanon group in Karaoun. After completing the civic education curriculum over the course of a year, the group decided to take the initiative to protect the Karaoun Lake from further pollution.

The working group, in coordination with facilitators from the Development for People and Nature Association, began organizing an advocacy campaign around the issue by meeting with key local officials in preparation for a conference. Enthusiastic about their campaign, the group even organized a day to come together and clean the lake. In collaboration with the Municipality of Karaoun and the Islamic Scouts of Lebanon, participants and volunteers gathered solid waste from the Lake and its surroundings. Citizens of Karaoun were extremely enthusiastic about the activity.

“We organized this cleaning day of the Lake and we were shocked: We found hospitals’ medical waste in the lake, huge amounts of needles and IV bags and even animal corpses. We documented everything in photos” noted a citizen who participated in the environmental day.

“This day allowed us to examine the huge quantities of solid waste thrown in the lake, the documentation of these quantities will compose the backbone of our filing case” added the key contact from the Citizen Lebanon discussion group.

Everyone agreed on the importance of building a database to document the lake’s pollution.

The Citizen Lebanon group is currently working on gathering the following indicators:
- Level of pollution of irrigation water, lake’s water, fruits, fish, and soil;
- Cancer cases in the region, a number which is believed to be the highest in Lebanon;
- Medications sold at local pharmacies in correlation to the illnesses suffered and their causes;
- Photos and videos of medical waste, animal corpses and other physical waste found in the lake;
- Research on the lake’s pollution.

Once this information is gathered, the group will submit the case to appropriate authorities in an effort to lobby for a cleaner environment.
— Bilal Arfan and Marwan Abou Chahine, Facilitators, DPNA —