Day 3 - Meetings, meetings, meetings!

The third day of our Lebanon tour was probably our busiest but it was most insightful in to the challenges that we will face and has made it more clear, what we should focus on with our research project. 

Tight squeeze for 8!

After a painfully early start and navigating our way through the chaos that is Beirut rush hour traffic, pleasant smells of orange blossoms followed immediately by the stench of the infamously alive trash mountain of Saida, we headed South for our first meeting of the day with the Litani Water Administration of the Nabatieh region. After almost an hour waiting for our man to show up we learnt that the administration is responsible for the management of ten large wells, at 450m deep, pumping out 1000m³ which services the Nabatieh region. The region has 45,000 subscribers that pay a flat rate of around US$100 for their supply. When asked, we were informed that there has never been a case of water shortage from these wells and as such there has been no investigation in to rain water collection or other water conservation methods. The only issue the administration faces are the electricity cuts that is common throughout Lebanon, however that is solved simply by diesel powered generators. In relation to the Rocky Village, we were informed that there is a well that has been constructed in Arnoun that is awaiting a 50kW pump to be installed before being serviceable. It was stated that it would be no issue to install infrastructure to provide the Rocky Village with a domestic water supply of around 10-20m³ per day but unlikely to provide for agricultural use. We also asked about the possibility of a well to be established at the Rocky Village site, and the response was that it is possible, just requires a simple application to the appropriate authority in Beirut and we would know the result after two days and if approved the administration will install and maintain the well at no cost to the Rocky Village. By the end of the meeting, there was some doubt about the authenticity of the information given to us. However, it was an educational experience in to the kind of situations that can arise when speaking with government related authorities. 

Office of the Litani Water Administration 

After a short drive, we reached our next destination, the headquarters of The Confederation of Municipalities Union of Shqif region. This was a very formal meeting with the head of the confederation and some advisors and assistants. However, due to the language barriers it became a tedious process having to repeat everything that was said twice. However the attitudes of these official was much more realistic. They seemed genuinely interested to collaborate and support this project as they see the importance and community benefits it could bring to their region. However, their predominant focus is to secure water supply not only for the Rocky Village but also for the region as a whole. Unlike the scenario painted by the Water Administration, the Confederation was quick to point out there are water supply issues for the region, with half their water requirements being supplied by private water companies delivered by truck, a costly process. They highlighted that the problems include the climatic conditions - six months of the year there is close to no rainfall, problems with the water supply network where maintenance requirements are not fulfilled by the Water Administration and pushed on to the municipalities, which puts further pressure on their resources. 

In the meeting we also learnt that there is one rain water collection facility already in existence in Arnoun, but it is old, not maintained and the water collected is only suitable for tobacco plantation and nothing else. We were also advised that smaller initiatives is the appropriate way to approach the problem, rather than attempting to find a large scale solution. They also agreed that rain water harvesting would be beneficial and a suitable approach to the problem as on average, there is sufficient rainfall in the region, just that there is a surplus of it in the winter months which needs to be captured. 

Government bureaucracies and inefficiencies were also highlighted as challenges to our project. As an example, there have been plans for thirteen dams in the region, but so far only two have been implemented and unlikely any more will be constructed in the near future. Again, the issue of funding recourses came up. The confederation relies on funding from higher authorities or sometimes from NGOs and they do not have an independent, decentralised budget system (unlike European practices). We asked about awareness of the residents to their water supply situation and weather it would be beneficial to conduct an educational campaign about water conservation techniques, and their response was that it would be beneficial, but realistically economic incentives, such as metered water supply, would be the most effective approach. Lastly, we discussed the process of obtaining private funding for the project outside of the government and we were informed that even private donations to the Confederation must be reported through a "independent, unsupervised government agency." The words used there, speak for itself. 

Meeting with the confederation - along with great cakes and juices from a nearby café!

We then finally made it to the Rock Village site! Here we appreciated the beauty and tranquility of the surroundings and made the most of the sunshine! We also met with Castro, a friend of Nassib's and a farmer that has been using the land of the Rocky Village for some farming in the past couple of years. We asked about his farming methods and whether he has faced any significant problems when farming here. Surprisingly, he has only relied on natural rainwater fall for his crops so far, and they have been successful. However he has been using commercial farming methods and informed us that Organic farming would not be commercially viable for him. He has also attempted to persuade Nassib to look in to olive tree plantation as they are more financially rewarding, and highlighted what we learnt at ICARDA,  the importance of wheat farming subsidies. 

With Castro the local farmer on the Rocky Village Site

The final meeting took place with the Mayor of Arnoun province. He confirmed that the well in Arnoun has been constructed and will begin operation this coming summer. It will pump out 90m³/hour with the and will provide sufficient water supplies for three towns for both domestic and agricultural use. He also gave us a brief outline of the process of application and construction of the well. With regards with water conservation, there has been no plans for water conservation previously but especially not now as there will be sufficient water supply. However, personal rainwater harvesting is already in existence in the towns by the form of underground concrete tanks, but the water is only used for irrigation purposes. We also learnt that there is no sewerage network for the region, which is not overly surprising as it is semi-rural, however raw sewage is fed directly into underground pits, not sceptic tanks. The potential for ground contamination was raised, but it has not been a problem, and in fact, sewage is sometimes used to irrigate tobacco crops. 

It was a very busy day for us, but as you can see, one that was very important!!