06 March 2012

SIDON, Lebanon: The old city of Sidon is being threatened by unorganized urban development, the expansion of the city’s port and the presence of a large waste dump along the shore, according to a newly released UNESCO report.

The report, which examines development projects in Sidon, was the subject of discussion at a conference entitled “Assessment of the Social and Spatial Transformations in the Old City of Saida,” which kicked off Monday in the city’s Khan al-Franj.

Prepared by UNESCO official Leon Telvizian, the report says that most development projects undertaken in the city in the past decade have ignored the value of the city’s historical heritage.

“The presence of the dump along the shore is a clear threat to the development of the city,” Telvizian says in the report.

According to Telvizian, the delay in the implementation of a waste treatment project in the city can no longer be justified by the municipality of Sidon.

Threats to the natural environment are the most challenging says the UNESCO report. “Sidon’s shore has suffered the greatest damage in its history [in the past two decades] as a result of some projects,” says Telvizian in the report.

“The presence of a waste mountain, land reclamation and the development of city’s waterfront without proper planning have caused damage.”

The report also says that the challenges that will face Sidon in the next decade should be swiftly dealt with on both the local and national level.

“A maritime barrier, although costly, might provide a temporary solution to the problem of waste in the city,” the report says.

In October of last year, the foundation stone of Sidon’s maritime barrier was laid as part of a greater Sidon Waste Project. The start of waste treatment and landfills to remove the city’s waste dump are also part of the project.

Located 35 km south of Beirut, Sidon has undergone fast and uncontrolled urban development since the end of the Civil War.

In Khan al-Franj Monday, UNESCO and local officials held a panel discussion on the means to preserve and reconstruct the city’s social fabric and strike a balance between historical preservation and modernization of historical districts.

Speaking at the conference, Sidon MP Bahia Hariri acknowledged that many of the projects in the city have failed to deliver their intended goals. “We realized that there is no project or a vision that could succeed without the will of the people in it,” said Hariri, who also called for dialogue to achieve sustainable development in Sidon.

“Such a development could be possible through the collaboration between Med Cities, the municipality of Sidon, and the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Development,” said Hariri.

Speaking on behalf of UNESCO’s regional office, Joseph Kreidy called on local officials to develop public policies that preserve the city’s historical heritage.

“Drafters of public policy should answer questions like: How can we bring together modern socio-economic needs and cultural heritage without discriminating against the historic fabric of the city, which represents its origin,” said Kreidy.

The conference, which was organized by UNESCO’s Beirut office in coordination with the Lebanese National Council of UNESCO, the Sidon municipality and the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Development, will continue Tuesday to address the recommendations of UNESCO’s 2001 “Small Historic and Coastal Cities” conference.

During that conference, policymakers promoted principles for an integrated approach to the sustainable social and urban development of small- and medium-sized historic cities in southeastern European and Mediterranean coastal regions.

Copyright The Daily Star 2012.