Towards a national strategic environmental assessment system in Lebanon

Abstract

In an effort to mainstream environmental sustainability in the national development agenda, the Government of Lebanon is among the pioneers in the Middle East to launch the development of a national strategic environmental assessment (SEA) system that caters to the particularities of the Lebanese planning, regulatory and institutional context. This paper provides a critical overview of the approach followed by the Ministry of Environment for the development of an SEA system and its regulation. It also makes recommendations for facilitating SEA implementation and presents some of the early outcomes resulting from awareness raising during consultation on the development of the proposed system. © IAIA 2006.