There is little indication that a fenced-off construction site overlooking the Mediterranean about 40km north of Beirut is at the heart of a conservation dispute that has even drawn comment from President Joseph Aoun.
Work on the private villa, perched on a cliff in the town of Amchit, was halted by a judicial order last month following protests by activists, who say it threatens a cave below that is Lebanon’s best known breeding site for the endangered Mediterranean monk seal.
It is a case that has shed light on the wider ecological problems in Lebanon, abuse of the environment by a privileged elite and the privatisation of the coastline. The owners of the site want to build a house extending three floors down “without really caring for the habitat of the seals,” said Najat Saliba, a member of parliament's environmental committee and expert on climate change and pollution control.
“What we are trying to get them to do is do an environmental impact assessment; make sure you protect the sea life and habitat, and then you can build your property. There's nothing wrong with that,” Ms Saliba said.
Paul Abi Rached, who heads the Terre Liban environmental activist group that has led efforts to stop the villa’s construction, said the assessment should have been carried out beforehand because the area is the habitat of an endangered species.
Lebanon’s long, rocky coastline is an ideal habitat for monk seals. The cold, clean water in the cave in Amchit is ideal for female seals to deliver their pups away from possible predators.
The monk seal is considered one of the world’s rarest and most endangered marine mammals, and is the only pinniped native to the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Turkey-based Mediterranean Seal Research Group.
In a letter to Terre Liban, shared with The National, the Mediterranean Seal Research Group said the continued degradation of habitat, as well as the increased human presence and pollution, “jeopardises the long-term viability of monk seal recolonisation in Amchit and threatens the survival of a species already at the brink of extinction”.
The cliffs of Amchit are made of limestone, which can crumble and erode easily, making the caves fragile.
Experts say any construction or excavation can destabilise the rocks, accelerate fracturing and cause partial collapse of the cave roof.
Noise, vibration, dust and artificial lighting can interfere with the monk seal’s natural behaviour.
Sightings of monk seals are rare. There are only about 350 to 450 in the eastern Mediterranean, according to a study commissioned by Save Our Seals, out of a total population estimated to number 800 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
“Lebanon is attractive for monk seals, but also a threat. Not because of the people, they like the monk seals, even the fishermen – we've never heard that a fisherman killed a monk seal in Lebanon,” said Mr Abi Rached. “The problem is the disturbances, the constructions near the caves that are chosen by the monk seals.”
Work on the villa resumed in October despite the Ministry of Environment ordering that an environmental impact assessment be conducted first.
Protesters from the Save Our Seals campaign blocked construction vehicles from entering the site, with one going on hunger strike. A judge then ordered that construction be halted until a prosecutor for the region assessed the case filed by Ms Saliba and others.
On Thursday, lawyers for the owner of the villa filed a rebuttal, arguing they have the right to continue construction.
“It’s not over yet and we have another battle coming up,” said Ms Saliba. She said she had previously filed complaints to other judges and the Ministry of Public Works, but they were either dismissed or ignored.
The dispute has even drawn in President Joseph Aoun, who raised the issue at a recent cabinet meeting and demanded that measures be taken to protect the environment.
Mr Abi Rached said that, as a party to the 1978 Barcelona Convention, Lebanon should abide by its requirement to “eliminate pollution of the Mediterranean Sea” to the "fullest possible extent", and to protect marine life such as the monk seals.
“These animals are the property of all the Mediterranean countries. You cannot destroy their habitat,” he said
“Lebanon has a very beautiful coast, but it's destroyed by the bad laws that we have – the urban planning.”
But Lebanon is rife with other environmental issues that also demand action. Constant smog over Beirut, overflowing rubbish dumps and water pollution along large stretches of the coast, although not yet near Amchit, are among the challenges.
“I really want to emphasise the state of environmental degradation that is present in Lebanon. Air, water, food, and land,” said Ms Saliba. “Because we also know that people are irrigating with sewage water and that's very dangerous.”
Construction work at Amchit is only one of many incidents that have angered environmental activists. Earlier this month, there was outrage when videos emerged of a pre-wedding party at the Jeita Grotto, a network of limestone caves ranked among Lebanon's most famous natural sites.
The video showed guests dancing as a band played, even though the grotto is considered so fragile that photography is banned. The municipality of Jeita had granted permission for the event despite the strict rules. Tourism Minister Laura Lahoud said the municipality had notified her verbally about the planned party, but had not submitted a written request as is required.
Mr Abi Rached said such incidents happen because of a privileged class in Lebanon who are only interested in wealth and power, to the detriment of the environment.
“They don't want to have environmentalists in the country. They don't want to have a powerful Minister of Environment. They want to make money without any restrictions,” he said.
“When we talk about environmental degradation, we talk about the environmental exploitation by the establishment rather than just pollution,” said Ms Saliba.
She said the elites had divided up Lebanon’s resources between them, quoting research she has carried out since taking office in 2022 that is set to be published soon.
“They feel entitled to owning the land and exploiting it as they please,” Ms Saliba said.
