Go Deep

Lebanon

Water Facts

  • In the Bekaa Valley region, 1 in 4 people do not feel comfortable using governmentally maintained water sources due to waterborne parasites, pollution and bad taste. Around the rest of Lebanon, this number increases to 2 in 3 people.
  • The Qaraoun Lake is the only water storage site in Lebanon, and is used mostly to maintain agriculture throughout the Bekaa Valley
  • Institution and Infrastructure maintenance failure account for 75% of natural water resources lying untapped, increased from a 43% loss in 2010.
  • Lebanon is currently hosting an additional 25% of its population in refugees, stretching water resources alarmingly thin.

Water Challenges

01.

Natural water capture and access

02.

Water sanitation and cleanliness

03.

Storage concerns

04.

Infrastructure and Institution costs

Spotlight

A must-read report on climate change in Lebanon:

The National Water Sector Strategy is the principal roadmap for analysis and reconstruction of water infrastructure.

  • Focusing on proper use of funding; repairing existing water transportation methods to stop leakage and prioritizing water capture methods should provide immediate relief to some water concerns.
  • Ceasing pollution dumping into the Litani River will increase water quality and provide a reduction of blue-green algae in Lake Qaraoun.

http://www.databank.com.lb/docs/National%20Water%20Sector%20Strategy%202010-2020.pdf 

Expansion of Lake Qaraoun is a project to be started in the near future, increasing water security during the Lebanon dry season.

  • The secondary storage site will be of a higher altitude in the central mountain range, providing water at low energy cost once filled.

https://www.riob.org/en/file/256521/download?token=aD6P6Abe 

The Lebanon Crisis Response Plan has been expanded to cover extra costs incurred during safe harbor of Syrian refugees for the last decade.

  • Global Relief Efforts are working with the government of Lebanon to provide additional funding for housing, clean water, food and future prospects for refugees, most of which are based in the Bekaa Valley.
  • Relief of resource stretching will give time and funding to solve critical issues otherwise affecting the people of Lebanon, as well as expert consultation on crisis management from the United Nations.

https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/launch-2022-lebanon-crisis-response-plan-lcrp-government-un-and-partners-appeal-us-32-billion-enar#:~:text=The%20Emergency%20Response%20Plan%20

Lebanon Situation Report

The Situation Report provides a state-of-the-moment overview and analysis of Lebanon’s water conditions, challenges, and emerging issues.

Researcher Profile

  • Rabi H. Mohtar

    Texas A&M University.

    Rabi H. Mohtar is a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University. Mohtar’s research focuses on global resource challenges and the development of a Water-Energy-Food Nexus framework for linking science and policy; on characterizing the soil-water medium using thermodynamic modeling and the efficacy of non-traditional water, and on applications for sustainable integrated water management such as implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Rabi H. Mohtar is a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University. Mohtar’s research focuses on global resource challenges and the development of a Water-Energy-Food Nexus framework for linking science and policy; on characterizing the soil-water medium using thermodynamic modeling and the efficacy of non-traditional water, and on applications for sustainable integrated water management such as implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Mohtar serves as a Governor of the World Water Council and as Vice President of the governance committee of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA). He is a Distinguished Alumnus of AUB, Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, and a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

    Mohtar founded the Texas A&M Water-Energy-Food Nexus Initiative (2015) and served as dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (2018-2021) at the American University of Beirut, where he also established the Water-Energy-Food-Health Nexus Renewable Resources Initiative (WEFRAH). While at Purdue University (1996-2014), Mohtar was the inaugural director of Purdue’s Global Engineering Programs (2008) and a founding member of Purdue’s Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering (2006).

    In 2011, he founded the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute. Throughout his career, Mohtar has received several awards, among them the 2022 Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for International Impact (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University), the ADS/Hancor Soil & Water Engineering Award (ASABE, 2022), and the PRIMA WEFE Nexus award (2021). He was honored at the American Chemical Society Division of Environmental Chemistry Symposium (2021) and is an ASABE Fellow (2018). He was the Ven Te Chow Memorial Lecturer of 2015. Mohtar served World Economic Forum Global Agenda Councils on Water Security and on Climate Change (2009-2014). He is a member of the Board of Governors of World Water Council (since 2012).

    Google Scholar | Research Gate

    For website: research group and most pubs are here:  http://wefnexus.tamu.edu/

    (Google Scholar (August 25, 2022) 4,537 citations; h-index = 36; i10 = 104)

    1.          Anandbhi, A., Srivastava, P., Mohtar, R.H., Lawford, RG., Sen, S., Lamba, J. 2022. Nexus Definitions and Conceptualizations: Lessons from FEW Nexus Studies. Journal of the ASABE. (in press).(doi: 10.13031/ja.14539)

    2.          Jordan Muell, R Mohtar, E-S Kan, AT Assi, VA Pappa. 2022. Farm-scale Water-Energy-Food-Waste Nexus Analysis for a Closed-Loop Dairy System. Front Environ. Sci. Sec. Environmental Systems Engineering. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.880839. (Part of a Special Issue on the research topic Water-Energy-Food-Health Solutions & Innovations for Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Drylands)

    3.          Zarrar Khan, E Abraham, S Aggarwal, MA Khan, R Arguello, M Babbar-Sebens, JL Bereslawski, JM Bielicki, PE Campana, MES Carrazzone, H Castanier, FJ Chang, P Collins, A Conchado, KR Dagani, B Daher, SC Dekker, R Delgado, FA Diuana, J Doelman, AA. Elshorbagy, C Fan, R Gaudioso,SH Gebrechorkos, HME Geli, E Grubert, D Huang,T Huang, A Ilyas, A Ivakhnenko, G PW Jewitt, MJF dos Santos, JL Jones, E Kellner, EH Krueger, I Kumar, J Lamontagne, A Lansu, S Lee, R Li, P Linares, D Marazza, MP Mascari, RA McManamay, M Meng, S Mereu,F Miralles-Wilhelm, RH Mohtar, A Muhammad,AK Opejin, S Pande, S Parkinson, R Payet-Burin, M Ramdas, EP Ramos, S Ray, P Roberts, J Sampedro, KT Sanders, MH Saray, J Schmidt, M Shanafield, S Siddiqui, M Suriano, M Taniguchi, A Trabucco, M Tuninetti, A Vinca, B Weeser, DD White, TB Wild, K Yadav, N Yogeswaran, T Yokohata and Q Yue. 2022. Emerging themes and future directions of multi-sector nexus research and implementation. Front Environ. Sci. Sec Environ. Systems Engineering. 10. 10.3389/fenvs.2022.918085

    4.          Rabi H. Mohtar 2022. The WEF Nexus Journey. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.820305. (Part of a Special Issue on the research topic Water-Energy-Food-Health Solutions & Innovations for Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Drylands)

    5.          Rabi H. Mohtar, Virender K. Sharma, Bassel Daher , Chrysi Laspidou , Hyunook Kim , Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos , Iman Nuwayhid , Richard Lawford , Ali Rhouma and Majdi Abou Najm. 2022. Opportunities and Challenges for Establishing a Resource Nexus Community of Science and Practice. Front. Environ. Sci. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.880754. (Part of a Special Issue on the research topic Water-Energy-Food-Health Solutions & Innovations for Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Drylands)

    6.          Iman Nuwayhid and Rabi H. Mohtar. 2022. The Water, Energy, and Food Nexus: Health is yet Another Resource. Front. Environ. Sci. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.879081. (Part of a Special Issue on the research topic Water-Energy-Food-Health Solutions & Innovations for Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Drylands)

    7.          Rabi H. Mohtar and Ali Fares. 2022. The Future of Water for Food. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.880767.  (Part of a Special Issue on the research topic Water-Energy-Food-Health Solutions & Innovations for Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Drylands)

    8.          Meshal M. Abdullah, Amjad Assi, Waleed K. Zubari, Rabi Mohtar, Hamed Eidan, Zahraa Al Ali, Bader Al Anzi, Virender K. Sharma, Xingmao Ma. Revegetation of native desert plants enhances food security and water sustainability in arid regions: Integrated modeling assessment. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 806, Part 4, 2022, 151295, ISSN 0048-9697 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151295.

    9.          Jagadeesh Anmala and Rabi H. Mohtar. (2022) Bounds on Amplification Factors, Element-Node and Node-Node Equivalence for Square Finite Elements in Kinematic Shallow Water Equations. Research Square. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-776348/v1

    10.       M. Goodarzi, RH Mohtar, M. Kiani-Harchegani, A. Faraji, F. Mankavi, J. Rodrigo-Comino. (2021) Assessment of the water poverty index (WPI) in the Borujerd-Dorood basin (Iran) to reinforce land management plans. doi.org/10.3989/pirineos.2021.176002

    11.       Mohtar, R.H. (2021) Commentary: A new water management model and the role of IWRA in water disputes. Water International. 46:7-8, 1211-1215Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. doi:10.1080/02508060.2021.1996969

    12.       Sang-Hyun Lee, Makoto Taniguchi, Naoki Masuhara, Rabi H. Mohtar, Seung-Hwan Yoo, Masahiko Haraguchi. (2021) Analysis of industrial water-energy-labor nexus zones for economic and resource-based impact assessment. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. V169: June 2021; 105483. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105483.

    13.       Jelle Beekma, J. Bird, A.N. Mersha, S. Reinhard, S.A. Prathapar, G. Rasul, J. Richey, J. Van Campen, R. Ragab, C. Perry, R. Mohtar, L. Tollefson, F. Tian. (2021) Enabling policy environment for water, food and energy security. Irrigation and Drainage. 2021;1–18. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ird © 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2560 A Special Issue Paper.

    14.       Braudeau, E., Mohtar, R.H. (2021) Hydrostructural Pedology, Culmination of the Systemic Approach of the Natural Environment. Systems 2021, 9, 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems9010008.

    15.       TC Pinkerton, AT Assi, VA Pappa, E Kan, RH Mohtar. (2021) Impact of Dairy Wastewater Irrigation and Manure Application on Soil Structural and Water-Holding Properties. Transactions of the ASABE. Vol. 64(3): 857-868 © 2021 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers ISSN 2151-0032 https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.14351

    Books

    1.     Sasha Koo-Oshima, Yuanyuan Li, Rabi Mohtar. June 2021. Final Report: One Water, One Health: Water, Food and Public Health in a Changing World. IWRA Online Conference, in collaboration with UN-FAO. 55 pages.

    2.     Bahn, Rachel A.; Juergenliemk, Armine; Zurayk, Rami; Debroux, Laurent; Broka, Sandra; Mohtar, Rabi. 2021. Digital Revitalization of the Agri-food Sector in Mashreq. Focus on Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. Washington, DC: World Bank. 86 pages.

    Book Chapters

    1.         Erik Braudeau. Hassan Boukcim, Amjad T. Asi, Rabi H. Mohtar. 2022. Hydrostructural Pedology: A Novel Scientific Discipline for Physical Modelling of ‘Green Water’ Dynamics in Soil-plant-atmosphere System. In Research Highlights in Agricultural Sciences Vol. 3. Abd Elmoneim Osman Elkhalifa, Editor. Chapter 4, pgs 65-75. Book Publisher International, London, UK.. ISBN 13-(15) 978-93-5547-877-1 (Print), 978-93-5547-878-8 (eBook).

    2.         Guido Schmidt, Christine Matauschek, Maite Fournier, Anna Saito, Bassel Daher, and Rabi H. Mohtar. (2022) The relevance and challenges in communicating the nexus.  Floor Brouwer Editor. Handbook on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. Chapter 22, p 398-412. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839100550.00031. ISBN 9781839100543. ElgarOnLine

    3.         Martin Keulertz and Rabi Mohtar, (2022) The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Libya, UAE, Egypt and Iraq, Rome, IAI, 27 p. (IAI Papers ; 22|01), ISBN 978-88-9368-238-1

    4.         Daher B., Mohtar R.H. (2021) Water-Energy-Food Sustainable Development Goals in Morocco. In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., Lange Salvia A., Wall T. (eds) Clean Water and Sanitation. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70061-8_133-1

    Policy brief

    1.         James Jones, Brahm Verma, Bruno Basso, P.E., Rabi Mohtar, and Marty Matlock, P.E. (2021) Transforming Food and Agriculture to Circular Systems: A Perspective for 2050. IN: Resource Magazine Special Issue on Transforming Food and Agriculture to Circular Systems. March/April 2021. V28:2 (Brahm Verma and James Jones, Guest Editors).

    2.         Bruno Basso, P.E., James Jones, Tom Richard, Charles Sukup, P.E., Lalit Verma, P.E., Marty Matlock, P.E., Rabi Mohtar, Stephine Herbstritt, and Rafael Martinez-Feria (2021) Designing Circularity into Corn-Soybean Systems IN: Resource Magazine Special Issue on Transforming Food and Agriculture to Circular Systems. March/April 2021. V28:2 (Brahm Verma and James Jones, Guest Editors).

    3.         K.C. Ting, P.E., Norman Scott, and Rabi Mohtar (2021) Circular Controlled-Environment Plant Production Systems. IN: Resource Magazine Special Issue on Transforming Food and Agriculture to Circular Systems. March/April 2021. V28:2 (Brahm Verma and James Jones, Guest Editors).

    4.         Food for Trade or Food for National Food Security: A Dilema for Drylands. Rabi Mohtar. OCP Policy Center. PB-52/21. December 2021

    5.         Addresing Food Security Challenges in Lebanon: a Water-Energy-Food-Health Nexus Approach. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Policy Brief September 2020. download

     

Research Facilities

AREC – Advancing Research Enabling Communities Center

AREC is a multi-functional and interdisciplinary center devoted to teaching, research, training and outreach activities as part of the American University of Beirut. AREC offers a unique real-life model for disseminating knowledge and innovation and for experimenting and applying research at a real-scale model.

Lebanese Water Actors (LEWAP)

The LEbanese Water Actors (LEWAP) platform has a shared online database developed by pS-Eau that groups all actors, organizations and projects in the water and sanitation sector.

LEWAP aims at sharing information and experiences among actors working in the WaSH sector; for any information regarding the latest publications, legal and institutional framework as well as contacts of people and organizations intervening in the sector you can consult our database on https://www.pseau.org/outils/organismes/index.php?l=fr. Moreover, a map of projects is available on this database grouping all municipal projects conducted with the support of French decentralized cooperation that you can access here.

Authors

The content of this Go Deep page was written by:

Alara Cohen

University of the Fraser Valley

Robert Newell

Royal Roads University & Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley