The new Government in the Lebanon promised to develop a national environmental policy, address environmental priorities in the framework of defined strategy and integrate this among different government departments. It then proceeded to halve the Ministry of Environment’s budget to $1.5 million.
This is typical of many Arab governments, where “due to the lack of money, experience and power, ministries of environment become submissive tools in the hands of contractors, middlemen and entrepreneurs”, writes Najib Saab, architect and editor-in-chief of Environment & Development magazine, the The Daily Star.
– See linked article for details.