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Conflict Incident Report

Coastal trash dumping worries fishermen in Burj Hammoud

Associated Timeline/Case: 
Waste Management Conflict (Starting January 25, 2014)
Date of incident: 
February 6, 2017
Death toll: 
0persons
Number of Injured: 
0persons
Actors/Parties Involved: 
Lebanese Civilians

BEIRUT: Local fishermen in Burj Hammoud staged a protest over claims that the deconstruction of a local landfill site has led to the dumping of waste into the sea, endangering their trade and worrying environmental activists. “The reason we are here [protesting] is because they are taking garbage from the old garbage mountain and dumping it right here in the sea,” an unidentified fisherman told local media.

The presence of both a historic dump site and a new temporary trash site in Beirut’s Burj Hammoud area has concerned local activists who have long claimed that they contribute to increased water pollution.

The group of local fishermen blocked traffic on the Dbayeh highway, protesting against water pollution and its effect on marine life and their trade. They temporarily obstructed trucks belonging to Khoury Contracting, the contracted company constructing and managing the new Burj Hammoud landfill.

Primary category: 
Collective Action [inc. protests, solidarity movements...]
Classification of conflict (primary): 
Policy conflicts
Conflicts associated with political decisions, government or state policies regarding matters of public concern, such as debates concerning law reforms, electoral laws, and protests of the government’s political decisions, among others.
Classification of conflict(secondary):
Conflicts of socio-economic development
Conflicts associated with lack of, or gaps in economic development, opportunities and access to resources.