EU-funded project assists Lebanese decision makers in prioritizing investments to reduce the degradation of the Litani River Basin

Based on an assessment recently released by the EU funded project SWIM-Support Mechanism (SWIM-SM), the cost assessment of water resource degradation of the Upper Litani Basin (ULB) is estimated to be equivalent on average to 0.5% of the National GDP in 2012, and is particularly attributable to water resources degradation (77% of total costs) including, in order of importance, water quantity, water-borne diseases and water quality.

Other major causes of degradation are the following:

• Poor waste collection and;
• Air pollution in the Zahleh and Baalbeck areas that affects not only health but also agricultural productivity, as additional use of fertilizers to compensate for productivity losses has some bearing on water resources quality.