Summary: Lebanon: EU assists in managing environmental impact of Middle East crisis (11 August 2006: Brussels)
The European Commission is in the forefront of efforts to tackle the oil pollution along the Lebanese coast. The Lebanese authorities sought assistance through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. In response, the Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) dispatched three experts to Beirut to assist the Lebanese authorities in the assessment of the situation and the preparation of the clean-up operations. Several tonnes of specialist equipment are being sent to help Lebanon
manage the consequences of this environmental disaster.
Stavros Dimas, the European Commissioner for the Environment, has expressed grave concern about the oil spill which developed off the coast of Lebanon after the Jiyeh power station was bombed in mid July: "We are dealing with a very serious environmental disaster. European assistance has already been made available to help Lebanon, but our efforts are constrained by the continuation of the hostilities. I am appalled that, several weeks after the spill occurred, it is impossible to start
full-scale clean-up operations and contain the further spread of the slick."
The oil spill has been described by environmentalists as the worst environmental disaster in Lebanon's history. Commission scientists at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra are monitoring the impact of the oil spill, which already covers over 150 kilometres of the coastline along Lebanon's Mediterranean shore and has reached Syria. Modelling and simulation studies are being carried out to anticipate any possible movement of the oil slick at sea.
The European response to the environmental crisis is being coordinated through the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), based in Brussels, which has dispatched a team of three Danish experts. The experts arrived yesterday in Beirut, where they joined the European team already present for the coordination of EU civil protection assistance. Specialised in marine and coastal oil pollution, the MIC experts will assess the situation relating to the oil spill, identify priority needs and assist
the Lebanese authorities in the planning and preparation of the containment and clean-up operations. As the first international expert team on site to assess the consequences of the oil spill, the team will liaise closely with other international actors, including the UN and the Regional Marine Pollution Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC).
The first assessments carried out by the EU expert team indicate that the oil, despite having been in the water for an extended period, is still of relatively low viscosity, which means that it can still be pumped or skimmed. Urgent action is therefore needed. The Lebanese authorities emphasise that they need operational and technical assistance to deal with the spills.
Norway, which participates in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, has agreed to dispatch nine metric tonnes of material assistance through the MIC. This assistance, offered free of charge, is expected to arrive this weekend. Several Member States have expressed their willingness to provide assistance as soon as the hostilities in the region have ceased. Cyprus and Ireland offered to provide booms and other materials. On Lebanon's request, several Member States provided lists of specialised
private companies which could be involved in the response operations after the end of the hostilities.
Commissioner Dimas added: "The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is effectively providing assistance under difficult circumstances. However, the current security situation does not allow for the immediate deployment of all the assistance needed to effectively tackle this environmental disaster and prevent further damage. The conditions must be created to allow a large-scale containment and clean-up operation to start quickly. "
The Community Mechanism for Civil Protection
The Community Mechanism* aims to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions. It ensures the coordination of assistance intervention in order to provide prompt support and to assist a country (inside and outside the European Union) in need of help. The main objective is to provide the best possible response and preparedness when a major emergency situation arises.
Such activities are coordinated by the Commission through the activation of its Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), located in DG Environment, Civil Protection Unit.
30 states** participate in the Community Mechanism. These pool those resources that can be made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world through this mechanism.
Since its creation, the Mechanism has been activated for a number of disasters worldwide, including the 2003 earthquake in Iran; the 2004 tsunami affected South East Asia; the 2005 forest fires in Portugal, flooding in Bulgaria and Romania, Hurricane Katrina in the US and the earthquake in Pakistan. This year, the Mechanism has been activated for floods in Central and Eastern Europe, the earthquake in Indonesia and this week's forest fires in Spain.
For more information:
Civil Protection Unit:http://ec.europa.eu/environment/civil/index.htm
* Council Decision of 23 October (2001/792/EC, Euratom) (OJ L297, 15.11.2001, p.7)
**EU 25, Bulgaria, Romania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
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