Alleviating Barriers to Quarries

Rehabilitation in Lebanon
ABQUAR LIFE04-TCY-RL-0040

FINAL REPORT
1/3/2005 to 31/8/2007
Submitted on 31 August, 2007

Prepared By

Dr. Hassn Bitar

Project Manager

Adel Yacoub

Project Coordinator

Ministry of Environment
Lazarieh Bldg., Riad El-Solh
Block A4, P.O.Box. 11-2727
Beirut Lebanon
Tel. +961.1.976555
Fax. +961.1.976532
www.moe.gov.lb

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................... 2
LIST OF ACRONYMS............................................................................................................ 4

SECTION I TECHNICAL REPORT ........................................................ 5

SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESULTS ......................................................... 6
ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESULTS ...................................................................................... 9
PROJECT MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................. 9
ABQUAR Team ................................................................................................................ 9
National Coordination ....................................................................................................... 9
External Assistant ............................................................................................................ 10
Post Audit & Independent Audit ..................................................................................... 11
VAT Status ...................................................................................................................... 12
T.1 PROJECT MOBILIZATION ...................................................................................... 12
1.1 Setting up the Office................................................................................................ 12
1.1.1 Purchasing Necessary Equipment ........................................................................ 12
1.2-1.3 Rescheduling Tasks and Assigning Exact Team Mandates .............................. 12
T.2 REVIEW OF EXISTING FRAMEWORK FOR QUARRIES REHABILITATION IN
LEBANON & INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE ............................................................... 14
2.1-3 Reviewing Legal/Institutional Frameworks & Assessing Responsibilities .......... 14
2.4-4.3.4 Study Tour and Training ................................................................................ 15
T.3 DEVELOPING A GIS-BASED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM........................... 17
3.1 Updating Quarries Survey ....................................................................................... 17
3.2-3.4 Criteria for Prioritization & Participatory Meetings ......................................... 17
3.3 Identification of Best Rehabilitation Practices ........................................................ 17
3.5 Developing a Decision Support System .................................................................. 18
T.4 IDENTIFICATION OF BARRIERS & DEVELOPMENT OF MEASURES TO
OVERCOME THEM ........................................................................................................... 18
4.1 Alleviating Institutional & Legal Barriers ............................................................... 18
4.2 Alleviating Financial Barriers ................................................................................. 19
T.5 Implementation Program ............................................................................................. 19
5.1 Setting-up a Program for Quarries Rehabilitation .................................................... 19
5.2 Development of Administrative Setup ..................................................................... 20
T.6 COMMUNICATION & DISSEMINATION PRACTICES ........................................ 21
6.1 Conducting Relevant Awareness Campaign ........................................................... 21
6.2 Involving Stakeholders in Identifying and Prioritizing the Rehabilitation Program 22
LONG TERM MONITORING INDICATORS................................................................... 22
CHALLENGES, SHORTCOMINGS & SUSTAINABILITY ............................................ 22

SECTION II FINANCIAL REPORT...................................................... 24

Declarations ......................................................................................................................... 25
Standard Statement of Expenditures and Income ................................................................ 26
Beneficiarys Certificate ...................................................................................................... 27
Consolidated Statement of Expenditure............................................................................... 28
Project Statement of Income ................................................................................................ 29
Personnel.............................................................................................................................. 30
Travel ................................................................................................................................... 32
External Assistant ................................................................................................................ 33

Durable Goods ..................................................................................................................... 34

Consumable Material ........................................................................................................... 35
Other Cost ............................................................................................................................ 37
Overheads ............................................................................................................................ 39
Overheads Description ......................................................................................................... 40

SECTION III ANNEXES & REPORTS ................................................. 41

LIST OF REPORTS ON DVD ............................................................................................ 42
LIST OF ANNEXES ON DVD ........................................................................................... 43

LIST OF ACRONYMS

CoA

Court of Accounts

CoM

Council of Ministers

CoS

Council of State

DPNR

Department of Protection of Natural Resources

DSS

Decision Support System

DR

Department of Registry

EA

External Assistant

EC-LIFE

European Commission LIFE Programme

ELARD

Earth Link and Advanced Resources Development

GIS

Geographical Information System

LEDO

Lebanese Environment & Development Observatory

LBP

Lebanese Pound

MoE

Ministry of Environment

MoF

Ministry of Finance

NC

National Coordinator

NCQ

National Council for Quarries

PM

Project Manager

PR

Progress Report

SCN

Service of Conservation of Nature

SWOT

Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat

TA

Technical Assistant

TOR

Terms of Reference

VAT

Value-Added Tax

Section I Technical Report

Section I

Technical Report

SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESULTS

Tasks Description
Task.1
Project Mobilization

Task.2
Reviewing Legal Framework for
Quarry Rehabilitation

Cumulative Actions

Cumulative Outputs

9
9
9

Setting the office

Identifying major stakeholders
Exposing the project

Reviewing legal and institutional framework

for quarries in Lebanon
Evaluating mandates and capacity building
needs of concerned institutions and
stakeholders
Identifying flaws, gaps and overlaps in
legislations and mandates
Exposing key stakeholders to international
experience

SWOT analysis of existing legislations/regulations for quarries

permitting, operation and rehabilitation examined and reviewed
in view of a number of legal and institutional frameworks in 5
different countries with similar constitutional and geographical
conditions to Lebanon;
Concerned stakeholders identified and consulted on quarries
rehabilitation issues and their level of involvement assessed;
A responsibilities matrix of the role of the various concerned
institutions was prepared and gaps and overlaps were thereafter
highlighted;
Based on these analyses, existing quarries legislation namely
decree 8803/2002 was amended and later on approved by the
Council of Ministers (now decree 16456/2006);

9
9

National coordinator appointed;

Project manager and technical assistant recruited;
All necessary contracts prepared and signed;
One workstation and one laser printer purchased;
Key stakeholders identified and consulted;
Website and brochure finalized and published;
Project launched in an official ceremony;
External assistant engaged;
Mandates assigned to projects team;
A 30 months work plan designed and tasks/activities scheduled
accordingly.

page6

Tasks Description

Cumulative Actions

Cumulative Outputs
The Council of Ministers has also approved a draft law
introducing to the 2006 national budget law (under MoE section)
a program-law for the implementation of a national
rehabilitation program which is now being submitted to the
Lebanese Parliament for discussion and still pending.

Task.3
Developing a GIS-based Decision
Support System (DSS)

9
9
9

9
9

Updating quarries survey

Setting up criteria for prioritization of quarries
rehabilitation
Developing matching criteria for identification
of best rehabilitation practices based on quarry
characteristics
Consulting with key stakeholders to include
their feedback in developing the DSS
Designing a user-friendly interface with
powerful graphical capabilities to facilitate
programming and evaluation of rehabilitation
plans

Existing quarry surveys reviewed and consolidated with new

data acquired after validating both desk and field surveys;
Most operational and non-operational quarries/pits in Lebanon
pinpointed and their characteristics and geographical position
analysed using both remote sensing and satellite images;
A total of 471 quarries in 7 different governorates (Mohafaza)
were field-surveyed and an ID card was filed for each quarry
and all gathered records were thereafter consolidated into a GIS
database;
Based on the environmental regulations imposed by MoE, 20
prioritization criteria for rehabilitation were identified;
Reviewing international guidelines for quarry rehabilitation and
taking into account various quarry types and their ecological
and geophysical characteristics, a list of appropriate
rehabilitation practices was put together in a comprehensive
report;
The prioritization and matching criteria were validated by
private and public stakeholders through a series of public
participation workshops;
A GIS-based decision support system (DSS) designed, tested and
validated.

page7

Tasks Description
Task.4
Identification of Barriers and
Developing Measures to
Overcome them

Cumulative Actions
9

Task.5
Implementation Program

Task.6
Communication and
dissemination practices

Cumulative Outputs

Alleviating institutional and legal barriers by

updating or drafting new legislation that sets
the framework for quarries rehabilitation
Alleviating financial barriers by developing a
system of incentives to solicit quarries
operators/owners participation in quarries
rehabilitation
Alleviating technical barriers by exposing key
stakeholders to international experience and
conducting training seminars/workshops
targeting quarries owners/operators
highlighting the need and benefits of quarries
rehabilitation

Based on the SWOT analysis of existing legal framework, a new

comprehensive law for quarries in Lebanon has been drafted
and is now being reviewed by the legal affair department before
it could be submitted before the Council of Ministers for
approval;
Financial barriers for quarries rehabilitation analysed and a
range of financial incentives identified based on a study of
financing mechanisms in similar countries.
A 10 days study tour and training on the best practice for
operation and rehabilitation of quarries was organized in BaselSwitzerland from 13 -22 Nov. 2006 for 4 MoE staffs from the
department of protection of natural resources including the PM.

Setting up a program for quarries

rehabilitation based on prioritization system
and DSS
Developing the administrative setup for
proposals reception, evaluation, monitoring,
final approval of works and project archiving

Using the DSS and its reinforced visual GIS interface, various
scenarios and routines of prioritization have been tested with
the aim to develop a national rehabilitation plan for quarries;
A procedure including guidelines, regulations and
administrative checklist for rehabilitation application has been
developed and is now pending ministers approval
A number of applications for quarries rehabilitation have been
received from local municipalities and interested public.

Involving stakeholders in identifying and

prioritizing rehabilitation program

A total of 12 public and institutional consultation meetings had

been organized in the various Lebanese governorates in which
concerned authorities, councils, quarry owners/operators, NGOs
and lay public took part.

page8

ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESULTS

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
ABQUAR Team
The terms of reference (TOR) for both project manager (PM) and technical assistant (TA)
positions had been prepared by the national counterpart team and advertised in 3 local
newspapers and on MoE website. Eighteen applications were received for the PM position of
which 13 claims did not meet the TOR and so were disqualified. Similarly, 37 claims of
interest were received for the TA position of which 27 applications did not meet the TOR
and were also disqualified. PM took part in the evaluation of qualified applicants, for which
selection criteria were developed according to which a final candidate was selected and
appointed.
Mr. Hassn Bitar resumed his position as PM on September 1, 2005, whereas Ms. Carla
Hanna (ranked 1st) took up the TA position as of October 13, 2005. Ms. Carla Hanna had
later on resigned (on 23/08/2006) and Mrs. Linda Khalil (ranked 2nd) took over from October
09, 2006 till May 09, 2007 (see Annex.C 1 ).

National Coordination
As per the ministerial decision no. 52/2 dated 26/2/2005, Mr. Adel Yacoub from the Service of
Conservation of Nature (SCN) was appointed as a national coordinator for ABQUAR, an
assignment which he fulfilled on a full time basis the whole duration of the project (see
Annex.D1).
Moreover, given that ABQUAR is the first EC-Life project to be solely managed by MoE, the
support and expertise of Ms. Lamia Chamas (acting chief of service-SCN) was essential in
order to ensure projects progress particularly during the initial phase of the project when no
PM or TA was on board. Along with Mr. Yacoub, Ms. Chamas was fully committed to
mobilize the project, organize all administrative set-ups, recruit project team and write the
first progress report in the first 6 months of the project. She continued to support the project
at 25% of her time commitment at MoE till end of October 2006.
Only Mr. Yacoub time commitment is reported as MoE financial contribution to ABQUAR.
His personnel cost is calculated based on his gross salary and additional social charges (see
Table.1) according to MoE letter of 7/11/2006 (ref. 4812/B) - see Annex.D2.
Please note the National Coordination Unit previously reported did not take effect due to
the fact that some involved staffs have resigned their job at MoE and that the difficult
circumstances did not allow a full implementation of all tasks and associated activities.

Annexes can be found on the enclosed DVD.

page9

Table.1 Personnel costs of national coordinators

Personnel Cost
Adel Yacoub

Social Charges
Year

2005-2006

% Time Committed to Project

100%

100%

1,672,000

1,710,000

Medical Insurance (7%)

117,040

119,700

Family Allowances + Educational Grants (6%)

100,320

102,600

Retirement Plans (8.5%)

142,120

145,350

Transportation (6,000 LBP/day)

150,000

150,000

Overtime (120 hours/year)

111,467

114,000

Gross Salary (LBP) *

Merits (2 months/ year)

TOTAL (LBP)
*

2006-2007

278,667

285,000

2,571,613

2,626,650

Sample payslips and timesheets are provided in Annex.D3

External Assistant
The external assistant (EA), ELARD s.a.r.l., was officially engaged as of January 3, 2006.
Three contracts (contract 11/1 and contract 13/1 dated 31/12/2005 and contract 37/1 dated
30/8/2005) and associated TOR were prepared according to both MoE and EC-LIFE
regulations and singed after being checked and cleared by the Lebanese Court of Accounts.
Contracts 11/1 and 37/1 are paid in full through MoE contribution and so it is subjected to
VAT. Whereas, Contract 13/1 is paid through EC-Life contribution and so it is not subjected
to any tax (see Annex.E).

Table.2 Contract 11/1 has a total budget of 84,975,000 LBP (with VAT) and is disbursed from MoE
contribution as follow:
Task

Deliverables

1.4
2.1-2.3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4

Submission of Work Plan

Designing Website and Project Brief
Review Legal Framework
Update Quarry Survey
Criteria for Prioritization of Quarry Rehabilitation
Develop Best Rehabilitation Practices Report
Organize meetings with stakeholders as part of PP
Contract 11/1 Final Report
Total

Payment

% Total

LBP 16,995,000

20%

LBP 25,492,500

30%

LBP 25,492,500

30%

LBP 16,995,000

20%

LBP 84,975,000

100%

page10

Table.3

Contract 13/1 has a total budget of 70,600 (without VAT) and is disbursed from ECLIFE contribution as follow:

Task

Deliverables

Payment

% Total

3.5.1

Submission of Work Plan

14,120

20%

Integrate Survey into DSS

21,180

30%

3.5.2

Integrate Priori./ Rehab. Criteria into DSS

21,180

30%

14,120

20%

70,600

100%

4.3.1

Identify Capacity Building Needs

4.3.3

Organize Training Workshops

Final Report and Training Seminars
Total

Table.4

Task

Contract 37/1 has a total budget of LBP 81,675,000 (with VAT) and is disbursed from
MoE contribution as follow:
Deliverables

Payment

% Total

Submission of Work Plan

LBP 16,335,000

4.1

Alleviating Institutional Barriers

LBP 24,502,500

4.2

Alleviating Financial Barriers

LBP 24,502,500

Final Report

LBP 16,335,000

20%
30%
30%
20%

LBP 81,675,000

100%

Total

Post Audit & Independent Audit

As mentioned in IR, the projects grant approval decree no.14685/2005 requires that a PostAudit be conducted. According to local regulations, namely that of the Ministry of Finance
(MoF) and the Court of Accounts (CoA), a post-audit entails carrying out two consecutive
types of auditing: external and internal. An external auditor controls the compliance to local
fiscal laws and the projects budget lines and sets the TOR for the internal audit; whereas, an
internal auditor controls the authenticity of all expenditures and associated transactions.
Both the external and internal auditors are to be selected through a public tendering. A
public tendering was launched and external auditor was publicly nominated Grant
Thornton Lebanon (P.O.Box. 11-4735, Beirut -Tel. +961.1.741614 - Fax. +961.1.743859).
In a similar process, Mori Group was selected (see Annex.L) to undertake an independent
audit on ABQUAR verifying the final statement of expenditure and income and certifying
that all costs incurred respect the Standard Administrative Provisions for EC-LIFE. An Audit
Report is provided herewith and is certified to be in total compliance with both national and
EC-LIFE accounting rules.
Mori Group details:

Bouna Yaacoub St., Jal El Dib, Beirut. Gebara Bldg. 6th Floor.
Telefax: +961.4.724.734/735. Email: morigrp@dm.net.lb.

page11

VAT Status
According to article 19 of the VAT law No. 379/2001 and with reference to the Ministry of
Finances letter addressed to MoE on 1/6/ 2004, VAT will be applied as follows (see Annex.
B):
I.

The supply of goods and services rendered in execution of the part of the project
that is foreign (i.e., EC contribution) are zero-rated.

II.

The supply of goods and services rendered in execution of the part of the project
that is financed by the contribution of the MoE is subject to VAT, and this VAT
shall not be reimbursed to the ministry.

T.1 PROJECT MOBILIZATION

1.1 Setting up the Office
1.1.1 Purchasing Necessary Equipment
A high-end workstation with high rendering and processing capabilities along with all
necessary software and patents and a laser printer with network capability was purchased.
Another computer was also procured from MoE.

1.2-1.3 Rescheduling Tasks and Assigning Exact Team Mandates

Given the security issues in Lebanon, rescheduling tasks had become a routine rather than
one-off activity. Many tasks and associated activities had to be rescheduled over and over in
view of current circumstances and projects progress (see Table.6).
As for assigning exact mandates of projects team, this activity was set by the contracts and
associated TOR signed by the PM, TA and EA. The mandates of the project coordinator
were set by a ministerial decree.

page12

Table.5

Tasks, activities and associated time frames.

Task Description

T1. Project Mobilization

T.2 Review of Existing Legal Framework

Initial

Reschedule 1

Reschedule 2*

Status

start

end

start

end

start

end

1-Mar-05

15-May-05

1-Mar-05

11-Feb-06

1-Mar-05

11-Feb-06

completed

15-May-05

15-Jul-05

3-Jan-06

16-Feb-06

3-Jan-06

16-Feb-06

completed

1-Jul-05
1-Jul-05
1-Jul-05
1-Jul-05
1-Jul-05

30-Aug-05
30-Oct-05
28-Feb-06
28-Feb-06
1-Aug-06

3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06

16-Aug-06
17-Apr-06
17-Apr-06
15-Apr-06
14-Sep-06

3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06

30-Sep-06
17-Apr-06
17-Apr-06
15-Apr-06
14-Oct-06

completed
completed
completed
completed
completed

1-Jul-05
1-Jul-05
1-Jul-05
1-Jul-05

30-Mar-06
1-Aug-06
31-May-06
1-Jul-06

3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
1-Aug-06

30-Aug-06
30-Jun-06
28-Dec-06
1-Oct-06

3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
3-Jan-06
13-Nov-06

1-Nov-06
30-Jun-06
28-Feb-07
22-Nov-06

completed
completed
put off**
completed

1-May-06
1-May-06
1-May-06

30-Aug-06
30-Nov-06
31-Jan-07

1-Nov-06
1-Nov-06
1-Nov-06

1-Aug-07
1-Aug-07
1-Aug-07

completed
completed
put off**

1-Jun-06
1-Jun-06

1-Jun-07
1-Jun-07

put off**
completed

T.3 GIS-based DSS

3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5

Update Quarry Survey

Criteria for Prioritization
Criteria for Best Rehabilitation Practices
Stakeholders Meetings
User-friendly Interface for DSS

T.4 Alleviating Barriers for Implementation

4.1 Alleviating Institutional Barriers
4.2 Alleviating Financial Barriers
4.3 Alleviating Technical Barriers
4.3.4 Study Tour and Training
T.5 Implementation Program**
5.1 Program for quarries rehabilitation
5.2 Development of administrative setup
5.3 Preparation of information booklet
T.6 Communication and Dissemination
6.1 Conducting relevant awareness campaign
6.2 Involving stakeholders

page13

* Due to the recent conflict in August 2006 many activities had been delayed and rescheduled.
** These activities are put off due to the issues raised in the requests for prolongation: (1) exceptionally difficult circumstances facing MoE, (2) ministers
resignation as of nov.2006 up till now, (3) the nature of the dissemination activities which are no longer a national pressing need given the post-conflict
focus of the Lebanese administration on recovery and reconstruction rather than institutional capacity building projects. A reference can be made to MoE
letter (2390/B: withdrawal of prolongation request) sent to EC-LIFE on 22/5/2007.

T.2 REVIEW OF EXISTING FRAMEWORK FOR QUARRIES REHABILITATION IN LEBANON &

INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE
2.1-3 Reviewing Legal/Institutional Frameworks & Assessing Responsibilities
This task was carried out by EA under contract 11/1. Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and
Threat (SWOT) analysis of all legal notes, archives and regulations pertaining to licensing,
operation and rehabilitation of quarries in Lebanon were reviewed and analysed by 2 legal
experts. This SWOT analysis was done in the context of current, past and future Lebanese
environmental positions and regulations and revealed gaps, overlaps and flaws in existing
legislations and mandates. Comparative analysis of the results were also conducted
comparing environmental legislations in 5 different countries (Mediterranean and/or
otherwise). The analysis and associated results are elaborated in a comprehensive report (see
Report.1 2 ).
A number of stakeholder meetings (activity.2.2.3) were conducted in order to assess the
capacity needs of various concerned institutions and determine their level of involvement
and intervention in reinforcing quarries regulations in Lebanon (see Annex.G). This was
carried out in the form of personal interviews which were conducted on one-to-one basis
with representatives (mainly directors general) of all concerned institution including 6
governors or Mohafez.
By concerned institutions it is meant all members of the National Council for Quarries
(NCQ). Established in 2002 as per decree no. 8803/2002, NCQ is presided by MoE and
includes 8 other public authorities: (1) Ministry of Public Works and Transport-Directorate
General of Urban Planning; (2) Ministry of Interior and Municipalities- Directorate General
of Administrations and Local Councils; (3) Ministry of Energy and Water; (4) Ministry of
Public Health; (5) Ministry of Defence; (6) Ministry of Finance; (7) Ministry of AgricultureDirectorate of Rural Development; and (8) Ministry of Culture-the Directorate General of
Archaeology. The minutes and recommendations gathered from all consultation meetings
and interviews are put together in a comprehensive report (see Report.5).
In view of the results obtained from the SWOT analysis of existing environmental
legislations, some amendments were introduced to decree no.8803/2002, the only piece of
legislation regulating quarries operation and rehabilitation, which were later on approved
by CoM by decision no.19/2006 as a new decree no.16456/2006. Among the several
improvements appended, a new article was added requiring quarry owners/operators to
rehabilitate their sites before they can be eligible for another license or extension of permit
(see Annex.G2).
A comparative table of the old vs. new decree (8803/2002 vs. 16456/2006) along with a soft
copy of the booklet that was disseminated of the new decree is provided in Annex.G2.
In different effort, CoM approved by decision no.31/2005 a draft law introducing to the
national budget law of 2006 (under MoE section) a program-law of 6 billion LBP to be
disbursed over 3 years for the implementation of a national rehabilitation program. This
2

Reports can be found on the enclosed DVD.

page14

program-law has been forwarded to parliament for discussion and is now pending approval
(see Annex.G3).

2.4-4.3.4 Study Tour and Training

Originally two overseas training activities were planned, however due to delays in
launching the project, these two activities were combined upon EC-LIFE approval
(E4/MO/sbD(2006)DI2654) dated June 27, 2006.
As was previously described, a number of European embassies in Beirut were contacted and
their help in identifying training centres and sites of successfully rehabilitated quarries in
Europe was sought out. A number of responses were received many of which were
irrelevant. Nevertheless, two training centres had been identified and a cost/program
proposal was thereafter secured. These centres are Integration (Umwelt & Energie) from
Germany and the Institute for Ecopreneurship, School for Life Sciences, North-western
Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. After reviewing the cost proposals, the Institute
for Ecopreneurship was selected for its academic non-profit background and the
resemblance of Switzerland geological and geographical conditions to Lebanon (see
Annex.H).
The study tour and training took place in Basel, from Nov. 13 to 22 wherein 4 staffs from
MoE including PM had participated:
1. Mr. Adel Yacoub: acting head of DPNR/SCN, ABQUAR national coordinator,
agriculture engineer;
2. Mr. Nadim Mroueh: staff of DPNR/SCN, civil engineer;
3. Mr. Khalil Zein: staff of DPNR/SCN, senior geologist;
4. Dr. Hassan Bitar: ABQUAR PM, landscape architect.
The 10 days program (see Table.6) aimed at exposing MoE staff to best practices in quarries
design, management and rehabilitation through training and site visits of successfully
rehabilitated sites in Switzerland. Materials offered in the training as well as photos of the
site visits can be reviewed in Annex H.4.
Table.6 Program of the study tour and training
Date

Location

Nov 13

Basel
Muttenz
FHNW
Muttenz
Holderbank
Zurich

Nov 14
Nov 15

Nov 16

Holderbank

Activity

Arrival and transfer to hotel

Introduction
Land use planning,
EIA for quarry licensing
International quarry rehabilitation
projects
Site visits
Guidelines on quarry rehabilitation

Trainer
Dirk Hengevoss
Dieter Mutz
Claude Lscher
Thomas Imbach
(Holcim)
Thomas Imbach
(Holcim)

page15

Date

Location

Activity

Trainer

Nov 17

Thun

Nov 18

Flawil

Site visits, technical realization of a quarry

rehabilitation
Planning of nature trail
Site visit, quarry for landfill of municipal
incineration waste, rehabilitation and
monitoring
Site visit, quarry for landfill with C&D,
underground quarry, rehabilitation
Legislation (C&D waste), EIA, Land use
planning
Execution of legislation
Public-private partnership
Branch agreements
Site visit

Andreas Lehmann
(Stiftung Landschaft und
Kies)
Georg Willi (Renat)

Balzers FL
Nov 20

Lyss

Nov 21

FHNW
Muttenz

Nov 22

FHNW
Muttenz

Case study Lebanon: developing a

national rehabilitation program and
exposing the DSS developed at MoE
Co-processing of solid waste and use of
quarries as land fill
Certificates

David Schmid (BAFU)

Rudolf Klay (BE)
Andy Laube
Christiane Kilchhofer

Thomas Imbach
(Holcim)
Dieter Mutz
Dirk Hengevoss

In addressing the concerns raised by EC-LIFE (letter ref. E4/MO/sbD(2006)DI2654), the

following positions should be noted:
1. Further to what it has been previously discussed with the external monitoring team
(Astrale) during the post-conflict mission to Lebanon concerning Holcim-Lebanon
participation in the training: Holcim-Lebanon is by no means a service provider nor
have they the means and technical expertise to subcontract quarry rehabilitation
works in Lebanon; rather they are one of the largest quarry operators and so there
could not be any future conflict of interests should any prospective public
tendering/bids for quarries rehabilitation work in Lebanon take place. Moreover,
acting on EC-LIFE recommendations, an announcement of the study tour and
training was made on projects website for 4 months preceding the training. Peoples
applying for new quarry license or renewing their licenses were also made aware of
the training.
2. On the issue of Holcim-Lebanon paying for part of the overall training costs: detailed
and clear accounts were kept where each party was invoiced separately and the cost
of Institute for Ecopreneurship services was made clear. This was also reflected in the
cost proposal submitted by them (see Annex H.3).

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T.3 DEVELOPING A GIS-BASED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM

3.1 Updating Quarries Survey
This activity was carried out by EA under contract 11/1. No official statistics or records on
quarries in Lebanon are available, however many limited or regional surveys (such as
LEDO/EC-LIFE 98-RL-136, Dar Al Handassah, Lebanese army and MoE) had been
conducted for various research and development purposes. A review of these surveys
resulted in the acquisition of 475 quarry records which were then validated and
consolidated into a GIS-based database.
Using GIS tools, a desk survey of high definition satellite images (80-by-80 cm) that were
available from the directorate general of urban planning was performed. Visible sites of
quarries or pits were scanned and their geographical location and characteristics identified.
Using a structural sampling strategy, a field survey was carried out with a dual objective to
(1) acquire new information on unregistered/illicit quarries and (2) validate data acquired
through desk survey. An inventory sheet (i.e., ID card) was designed including all
administrative, environmental, technical and financial parameters required by MoE (see
Annex.I). Details of the methodologies and data collection are elaborated in Report.2
available on the enclosed DVD.

3.2-3.4 Criteria for Prioritization & Participatory Meetings

These 2 interdependent activities were carried out by EA under contract 11/1. Twenty
criteria for prioritization of quarries rehabilitation and associated categories were identified
in collaboration with MoE staff of DPNR/SCN. These criteria reflect mainly the general
environmental conditions set by MoE for quarry licensing. A series of 12 participatory
meetings with major stakeholders were then organized to test and validate the utility of
these criteria which were also evaluated by international experts during the study tour and
training. For each criterion a weighting factor (0-1) was assigned based on stakeholders
ratings/perception of importance of scale in determining priority gathered during
participatory meetings. Similarly a grading factor (1-5) was assigned for each subcategory. A
DSS module was designed and built on these criteria and their associated weighting/grading
factor to compute an overall raking for each quarry (see Annex I.2). The details of these two
activities are elaborated in Report.3 and 5.

3.3 Identification of Best Rehabilitation Practices

This activity was carried out by EA under contract 11/1. Best international practices and
methods of quarries rehabilitation reviewed and their appropriateness determined by
examining associated environmental guidelines in view of the local geographic and
environmental conditions, types and characteristics of quarries in Lebanon. Guidelines
where then developed for each type of rehabilitation based on the recommendations
identified through review of successful international case studies of quarry rehabilitation.

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Thus, a set of parameters and guidelines necessary for the design and implementation of
quarry rehabilitation specific to each type of quarries in Lebanon was developed.
These parameters were coded into a DSS module which would search into the quarries
database and GIS layers for the specific condition for each quarry and then propose and type
of rehabilitation indicating its level of appropriateness to that quarry. The details and
outputs of this activity are elaborated in Report.4.

3.5 Developing a Decision Support System

This task was carried out by EA under contract 13/1. All collected quarry records were
consolidated into one database and an independent DSS module was developed to parse
through these records and generate fact sheet for each quarry and a GIS layer or a theme
map of their locations and characteristics.
The DSS is designed as a tool to assist in making complex decisions at all levels and various
scales. It is built around an open and user-friendly interface which allows any power-user or
decision-maker to make the most out of it. It has also powerful graphical capabilities such as
delivering and plotting information very quickly in such visual manner that would
effectively guide decision-makers at each step of quarries rehabilitation planning. Using
relational algorithms the DSS fetches through the quarries database for prioritization and
rehabilitation criteria to finally draw results/scenarios for prioritization, planning, and
monitoring. A description of the various modules and the software environment needed to
run the DSS as well as an installation program are provided in Report.6.

T.4 IDENTIFICATION OF BARRIERS & DEVELOPMENT OF MEASURES TO OVERCOME

THEM
4.1 Alleviating Institutional & Legal Barriers
This activity was carried out by EA under contract 37/1. One of the major issues raised
during the public/stakeholders consultation on the legal framework for quarries in Lebanon,
and which gained large consensus, was the lack of reinforcement of existing legislation, the
conflict of mandates among the various concerned authorities and the political interferences
(see Report.1 and 9). It should be noted that hitherto all environmental regulations
pertaining to quarries took the form of either a ministerial decision or a decree which can
easily subjected to political contentions. Given that, and based on the SWOT analysis results
of existing legislations and the recommendations drawn by all concerned stakeholders, a
new comprehensive law for regulating quarrying sector was drafted and is now being
reviewed by the legal affair department before being submitted to Council of State (CoS) for
verification and later on to CoM then parliament for final approval. The draft law can be
reviewed in Arabic in Report.7 which also includes an English summary of the main articles.

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4.2 Alleviating Financial Barriers

This activity was carried out by EA under contract 37/1. Existing financial mechanisms were
assessed and barriers obstructing the process of quarries rehabilitation in Lebanon were
identified. A review of financing mechanisms in 5 different countries with similar
geographical, socio-economical and environmental setting allowed the identification of
suitable measures to overcome these barriers and a system of incentives was thus proposed
ranging from revising quarry bonds to introducing levies on quarry production, to
government funded programs, to cost-sharing between national and municipal revenues, to
establishing government-industry partnership and non-profit organization trust fund, etc.
A short-term incentive was also sought out by ABQUAR and was promulgated in the same
booklet of that of decree no. 16456/2006 which consisted of an official procedure by which
owners of old quarries and pits (only aggregate quarries with a cut-face of less than 6 meters
are eligible) are granted short-permits which allow them to rehabilitate their sites through
step-wise benching and site levelling. The cost of rehabilitation would be thus recovered
from selling the excess of materials generated from terracing. This procedure land
reclamation procedure was approved by the decree no. 16456/2006 - see Annex.G2 (p.1417).
In a different effort, quarry bonds retained by MoE, for those who violated the
environmental conditions and the terms of their licenses, were mobilized in a step to
establish an independent institutional body and set-up a rehabilitation fund which can be
used to finance rehabilitation programs. The legality of such act is being validated by
financial and legal authorities alike. All these financial mechanisms and incentives were to
be reviewed in view of concerned stakeholders; however the current conditions in the
country prevent such public participatory meetings from being held. The reviews and
recommendations of financial mechanisms are elaborated in Report.8.

T.5 Implementation Program

5.1 Setting-up a Program for Quarries Rehabilitation
The prioritization system and DSS previously developed were used to develop a first
priority rehabilitation program to go in line with the program-law of the national financial
budget for 2006 forwarded by CoM to parliament (see Annex.K). Five sites were identified
as most pressing quarries to be rehabilitated according to the following criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Type of exploitation or quarry type;

Environmental and visual impact;
Impact on public safety;
Proximity to natural resources (water springs, protected areas, wetlands, rivers, etc.);
Proximity to residential areas;
Availability of an impact assessment study of the site;
Land ownership;
Geographical location;

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9. Willingness of the owner/operator to rehabilitate;

10. Proximity to archaeological/touristic sites;
11. Site location and its effectiveness in acting as a successful rehabilitation model and
raising public awareness;
12. Potential after uses (landfill, water reservoir, agricultural land, etc.);
13. Availability of funds or bonds.
Table.7 shows the sites chosen according to the above criteria to be part of the first
rehabilitation program which would be funded through the program-law previously
mentioned which was approved by CoM as per decision no.13 dated 1/12/2005 and yet to be
adopted by the parliament.

Table.7 Rehabilitation sites identified using the prioritization system and the DSS.
Town/Site
Msaylha
Hadath Jibbeh
Ain Zhalta
Zighidraya
Jouwaya

Caza

Mohafaza

Batroun
Bcharreh
Ain Zhalta
Sidon
Tyr

North Lebanon
North Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
South Lebanon
South Lebanon

Stereographic Coordinates
X
-319055
-297478
-318586
-347553
-357504

Y
14072
11600
-46779
-68333
-99584

Criteria
1,2,3,4,8,10,11
1,3,4,8,11,13
1,3,4,7,8,11
1,3,6,7,8,11,12,13
1,3,4,7,8,11

It should be noted that this program was developed upon ministers request using merely
the prioritization criteria that were identified prior to DSS in a move to mobilize the
aforementioned program-law for rehabilitation. This has become the national rehabilitation
program. These prioritization criteria and associated weighting system as leveraged by
public perceptions was then fully integrated into DSS and helped develop rather a
theoretical framework for a national rehabilitation program. Such results would have to be
validated and exposed to public and concerned stakeholders before it can be implemented
as they may not be compliant with the minister decisions which a priori reflects the
government political stance/decision concerning quarries rehabilitation in Lebanon.

5.2 Development of Administrative Setup

To date, no official/administrative procedure for quarry rehabilitation exists at MoE by
which owners/operators of old quarry sites (of any type or scale) can be granted a
rehabilitation permit or license. Hence, a draft procedure was prepared (see Annex.K2)
including:
1. Administrative framework: who, how, where and when?
2. Documents (administrative and technical: ID, land ownership, cadastral map, landuse/land planning maps, geographical/survey maps with spot levels, hydrogeological and geophysical assessment reports, EIA reports, etc.) required for
application;

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3. Technical and environmental conditions of the site (i.e., min. distances from natural
resources: springs, rivers, protected areas; residential areas; plot size, etc.);
4. Preliminary evaluation and final approval;
5. Concerned and involved authorities (e.g., municipalities, Mohafez, etc.);
6. Work monitoring and follow-up reports;
7. Financial guarantees or bonds;
8. Eligibility, license duration and renewal;
9. Penalties.
Other procedures such as final approval of work, archiving and systems for operational
quarries (activitiy.5.2.2 trough to 5.2.7) are routines that already exist and are operational at
MoE.
However, in order to be effective such a procedure must make part of, or be appended to, an
existing or a new legal framework, hence it is now pending NCQ and ministers approval
before it can be submitted to CoS and later to CoM for final approval and adoption.
Thus far, 9 claims of interest had been received and archived. A project proposal and an
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had been requested for each. Also, using the DSS
and the prioritization system their impact and priority on the national level had been
determined and was very low given these site are very remote with no secured funds or
bonds (see Annex.K1).
No information booklet (activity.5.3) of the rehabilitation procedure could be prepared or
disseminated due to aforementioned circumstances (see also following section: challenges,
shortcomings and sustainability).
N.B. unlike that disseminated with decree.16456/2006 this procedure is applicable to all types of
quarries (i.e., aggregates, rock or sand) and all scales (i.e., no limitations as to the cut-face, slope or
land impact).

T.6 COMMUNICATION & DISSEMINATION PRACTICES

6.1 Conducting Relevant Awareness Campaign
As previously reported (MoE letter ref. 2390/B dated 22/5/2007), due to the exceptionally
difficult circumstances facing the country in general, and MoE in particular, and the nature
of the dissemination activities -which are no longer a national pressing need given the postconflict focus of the Lebanese administration on recovery and reconstruction rather than
institutional capacity building projects- the awareness campaign did not take place.
However, MoE is fully committed to ensure the dissemination and sustainability of the
projects outcome should the general conditions permit again.

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6.2 Involving Stakeholders in Identifying and Prioritizing the Rehabilitation Program

This activity is end-result of a number of activities that were duly carried out or in
anticipation as part of task.2 and 3 namely activity.2.2.3 whereby 12 participatory meetings
were held in 6 Lebanese governorates in order to determine institutional capacity building
needs and review their mandates and solicit stakeholders opinions on the prioritization
system and existing legal framework for quarries (see Report.5)

LONG TERM MONITORING INDICATORS

To insure the sustainability of the Project the following indicators would have to be
monitored:
1. The draft quarries rehabilitation Program-Law of the national budget 2006 approved;
2. The national program for quarries rehabilitation approved;
3. All administrative set-ups, procedures and regulations for the implementation of
rehabilitation program approved and put in place;
4. The new framework Law for Quarries approved, implemented and reinforced;
5. A number of training seminars and workshops targeting institutional and public
stakeholders successfully carried out;
6. Quarry bonds mobilized and a national agency for monitoring rehabilitation works
established;
7. A number of financial incentives and measures for rehabilitation put in place and
implemented;
8. A number of awareness campaigns and dissemination activities continually
conducted with quarry owners/operators and local authorities;
9. Quarries database and DSS continually consolidated, updated and improved;
10. Prioritization criteria continually updated and revised in view of public perceptions.

CHALLENGES, SHORTCOMINGS & SUSTAINABILITY

Many hold-ups had somehow jeopardized the progress of the project and created several
shortcomings in those activities pertaining to the dissemination and implementation of the
projects outcomes.
After the assassination of the former Prime Minister R. Hariri on 22/2/ 2005 shortly prior to
the start of ABQUAR on 1/3/2005, general conditions in Lebanon became very unstable
resulting several political crises and public unrest which incessantly hampered the progress
of the project despite the efforts and measures taken by MoE to address that. Following is an
account of the various crises and their impacts on the project:

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February 2005 - August 2005: the assassination of former Prime Minister R. Hariri led to
the succession of 2 successive governments in a period of 6 months. During this time the
enactment of all legislations came to a halt. Given that ABQUAR is the first EC-LIFE
project to be solely managed by MoE, many administrative, technical and financial
procedures had to be established and certified to be compliant with both EC-LIFE and
local regulations. This required a lot of institutional collaboration which proved to be
very time consuming. As a result, the grant approval decree, without which the project
could not at all be mobilised, came 4 months after the projects official starting date.
Consequently, considerable delays occurred in recruiting the project manager, the
technical assistant and in engaging the external assistance.
July 2006 - August 2006: the one month conflict with Israel had severe impacts not only
on the project but also on the entire nation. Many activities, be it field-based or officebased, were critically delayed due to the fact that major roads were cut and many
employees had provisionally fled the country. This has raised enormous pressure on the
environment particularly the need for building materials for reconstruction as it also
altered the government priorities by deflecting all efforts towards the alleviation of the
socio-economical and political rather than environmental impacts of this war.
November 2006 - Present: Several ministers from the current government, including the
minister for environment, have resigned bringing to another halt many administrative and
financial procedures.
However the MoE is fully committed to pursue the project till the end particularly that it
addresses one of the most serious environmental problem as perceived by the Lebanese.
Sustaining the project can be achieved by pressing on the following key processes:

In the current circumstances, if an awareness campaign had to be put in place it

would have to be confined to Beirut district leaving a large stake of quarry
owners/operators and lay public in other regions uninformed of the new
rehabilitation procedure and the needs and benefits of rehabilitation and the projects
outputs. As soon as the conditions permit, MoE will carry out on a national scale as
soon as the conditions permit again.

The quarry law drafted as part of the Alleviating Legal and Institutional Barriers
activity still requires the assent of the minister of environment (now resigned) and
the consultation of various concerned authorities before it can be passed to CoS then
CoM and later to parliament for endorsement. MoE will work on pushing the draft
quarries law to an advanced level and insure its full endorsement and prepare and
implement associated applications decrees.

A financial procedure to mobilize quarry bonds have been developed and is now
being reviewed by various concerned authorities (viz., taxation, treasury and budget
directorates). Once these bonds are mobilized and the program-law for rehabilitation
had been approved by parliament, a rehabilitation fund would have to be established
allowing MoE to advance rehabilitation works for on priority quarries. This will
contribute largely to the sustainability of the project.

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Section III Annexes & Reports

Section III

Annexes & Reports

LIST OF REPORTS ON DVD

LIST OF REPORTS ON DVD

Report

Task

Title

3.1

Updating Quarries Survey

3.2

Developing Prioritization Criteria for Quarries Rehabilitation

3.3

Best Quarries Rehabilitation Practices

3.4

Participatory Meetings Evaluation Report

3.5

Developing a Decision Support System

4.1

Alleviating Institutional/Legal Barriers for Quarries Rehabilitation

4.2

Alleviating Financial Barriers to Quarries Rehabilitation

4.3

Alleviating Technical Barriers

Review of Existing Legal Framework for Quarries Rehabilitation

LIST OF ANNEXES ON DVD

LIST OF ANNEXES ON DVD

Annex

Description

VAT Status

VAT Law
2. MoE Letter to MoF

1.
2.
3.

Notice to Start
Contracts
TORs
Work Plans

Invitation Letters
List of Invitees
Ministers Speech
Project Brief + Decree 8803
Photos - Launching

Review of Legal Framework

1.
2.

Interviews with Concerned

Institutions
Decree 16456 + Comparative Table +
Land Settlement and Reclamation
Procedure

Letter to Embassies
Replies from Embassies
Cost Proposals

Training Materials
EC Per Diem Rates

Quarry Survey + Prioritization

Criteria
1.
2.

Quarries GIS Database + Records

Prioritization Criteria

Projects Website
Website Materials

1.

Quarries Rehabilitation Procedure

1.
2.
3.

Official Launching
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Focal Point Nomination

MoE Personnel Cost
Sample Payslips/Timesheets

External Assistant
1.
2.
3.
4.

Recruitment of PM
Recruitment of TA

Focal Point

Study Tour and Training

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Project Team
1.
2.

National Budget for 2006

Major Quarries Owners/Operators

1.

Description

3.

Stakeholders Identification
1.

Annex

Independent Audit
1.

Rehabilitation Program
Rehabilitation Procedure
Rehabilitation Demands Received

Proposal

Financial Forms
1.

Base Financial Forms