A large part of Lebanon’s charm and appeal is of its large coastal life that stretches around the Mediterranean Sea.

For thousands of years, it’s been a source of food, trade, renewal and pleasure, crossing civilizations and history. However, 80% of the shoreline is now privatised for the elite or for individual profit.

Locals who live by the shore often have restricted access to beaches that are walking distance to their house. That happened to my father, in my hometown, where the army built endless bath complexes, and the Luxury Yacht Club privatised the shore and built a wall to block access to it. He tried visiting politicians and talking to them in the nineties to halt the construction of the wall, but nothing has been done.

Alongside the privatisation and exclusion of our waters by the elite, biodiversity is often endangered by floods or oil spills, like most recently in the southern city of Sour in 2021. 

The city is known for its large public beach, one of the most beautiful in the country. Yet even the sea cannot be spared in the destructive politics of the region. Corruption, inefficiency of the government and Israeli attacks in the south have resulted in oil spills and endangered the ecological life of the city’s shore. Rising sea levels pose another threat to these sites as the steep landscape and small tidal range in the area has meant settlements are often located close to the waterfront. 

A large wave could be coming for us, destroying what we have best in this country. And it’s coming for us all!