In Lebanon, the state owns a substantial part of the territory, estimated to range between 20 and 25 per cent of the country’s total surface area. These publicly owned properties – the unbuilt ones – constitute our natural and ecological environment. They are a national asset directly linked to our ways of life and diverse livelihoods across Lebanese regions. Yet these public properties are the newest target of privatization through multiple government plans.
In this series of articles, part of an in-depth research project, we try to answer the following questions: What kind of land is owned by the Lebanese state? Where is it located? What social value does it hold? And what do we stand to lose if the state concedes this land?In this series of articles, part of an in-depth research project, we try to answer the following questions: What kind of land is owned by the Lebanese state? Where is it located? What social value does it hold? And what do we stand to lose if the state concedes this land?
The Reconstruction Draft Law repeats the Mistakes of the past:
Reviving destroyed villages can’t happen only through buildings
After a ceasefire was implemented in Lebanon on November 27, the Lebanese government held a special session on December 7 in the southern city of Tyre and approved a draft law for rebuilding homes destroyed by Israeli attacks, as they were before. Regardless of its immediate issues in terms of content, it appears that the proposed law does not address the previous or emerging challenges we are facing and risks repeating the mistakes of past failed reconstruction experiences.