Lebanon Environment - 2021

Environment - current issues

deforestation; soil deterioration, erosion; desertification; species loss; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills; waste-water management

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 30.67 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 24.8 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 3.37 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 240 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 900 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 700 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

4.503 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Climate

Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; the Lebanon Mountains experience heavy winter snows

Land use

agricultural land: 63.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 12.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 39.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 13.4% (2018 est.)

other: 23.3% (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 89.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: -1.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major infectious diseases

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Lebanon; as of 6 April 2021, Lebanon has reported a total of 480,502 cases of COVID-19 or 7,039.86 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 94.4 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 10 April 2021, 2.5% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Food insecurity

exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies:

due to the ongoing financial and economic crisis - in August 2020, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia estimated that more than 55% of the population lived in poverty, up from 28% in 2019; current figures are likely to be higher due to a fall in households' purchasing power; the already worrisome economic conditions, with increasing unemployment, poverty, and skyrocketing inflation rates, have further worsened due to the COVID‑19 pandemic and the measures introduced to contain the spread of the disease

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 2.04 million tons (2014 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 163,200 tons (2014 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2014 est.)