Category: Environment

40,000 face hunger as floods hit eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

{Flooding in the Katanga Province, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has destroyed houses, farms and livelihoods, and it is thought that 40,000 people face food shortages. Without a contingent climate risk adaption strategy in place, and with the global effects of El Niño set to continue, it is likely that Katanga could face further flooding and humanitarian emergency.}

Katanga is a region of the DRC all too familiar with disaster. The region, infamously given the title “The Triangle of Death” by the international community, was the focus of a brutal effort from rebel group Mai Mai Bakata Katanga to secede from the DRC in 2014. This caused the displacement of 400,000 people and a severe lack of food, water and basic services. Many farmers were targeted by the Bakata Katanga who burned down their houses, stole their cattle and destroyed their livelihoods, causing food insecurity and malnutrition in the area.

The conflict was resolved in 2015 by a joint U.N. Mission, restoring the hopes of many as well as the livelihoods and prospects of many smallholder farmers. The rains came seasonally on time and many had expected the situation to continue to improve. But instead the rains kept on coming, causing the Congo River to flood and swamp farmers’ fields. Though the threat of conflict has reduced somewhat, residual political insecurity has affected the ability of the international community to respond to the situation, making the region largely inaccessible to NGOs. The issue of food security continues to plague the region.

In recent years, the area has faced both acute food shortages and malnutrition. A Save the Children report in 2010 estimated that around half of all children in the region are chronically malnourished. Though child malnutrition had briefly improved in the area following the cessation of violence, the effects of flooding have made the situation chronic again.

Flooding in Katanga has only further compounded food shortages, “undermining humanitarian and development actors’ efforts to assist vulnerable people and communities,” said Claude Kalinga, World Food Program communications and reports officer based in Kinshasa. The livelihoods of many farmers, who have seen their crops washed away, have greatly suffered, exacerbating already chronic levels of food shortages.

Response to the situation in Katanga is difficult, given its remoteness and the issue of accessibility in a part of the country that often sees recurrent and large-scale flooding. The violence of 2014 has destroyed much of the road infrastructure, for example, making it harder to reach rural communities in need.

Currently there is no coherent, comprehensive international response to the crisis. Much of the efforts from the international community has been on responding to the drought effects of El Niño seen in much of the southern half of the continent, Kalinga said.

Such adverse climate patterns “were not expected in the central part of Africa, especially with this level of intensity,” said Catherine Hiltzer, desk manager of Solidarités International’s office. Little of the response has been on “ensuring that people are protected against climate risks,” said Kalinga, adding that “there is no dedicated monitoring or early warning systems in place” to ensure humanitarian agencies and local organizations are prepared before floods strike.

The effects of El Niño on Katanga are very real. Generally in the DRC, the rainy season begins in September every year, but for the last two years, the start has been delayed, with the season starting in December last year. As a result, “the farming season was disrupted and this has had a negative impact on smallholders’ agricultural production and on the sale of their produce in local markets,” Kalinga said. Harvests have been affected, creating a greater demand for food on an agricultural system that does not have the capacity to deal with climate risks.

Given the shortage of local food production, organizations like Solidarités International and World Food Program have stepped up to meet the needs of the crisis. Relief efforts have included “conventional” food handouts that are just about meeting basic needs, but it is clear that more must be done to combat longer-term climate shocks that will continue to affect the region beyond the current situation. Both Hiltzer and Kalinga argue that, in order to restore the local agricultural system and prevent crop loss, actors both at national and international level must provide more contingent strategies to mitigate these shocks and provide coping strategies for smallholder farmers.

Food for assets projects that strengthen resilience and reduce disaster risk, as well as seed saving, are part of this wider response, Hiltzer said. However, the very strategies employed to improve the resilience and increase the capacity of communities to deal with climate effects like flooding are under threat due to a lack of funding. So far the response has been critically underfunded, with humanitarian organizations needing “the support of additional donors to make sure that the successes of resilience projects are not totally destroyed by El Niño,” Hiltzer said.

Given the scale of the crisis, organizations like World Food Program are “limited in their ability to deal with the impact of such a devastating phenomenon,” Kalinga said, if the funding is not there. The international community must take stock of the crisis in Katanga and ensure that the livelihoods of smallholder farmers are protected against floods as much as they are against drought. The “phenomenon” in Katanga was not expected to hit so hard and has caught the international community off guard. Kalinga concludes by saying that it is the role of the media to provide better coverage of the crisis to ensure that humanitarian agencies respond accordingly.

April 12, 2016
Will La Niña Follow One of the Strongest Ever El Niños?

{Back in November, El Niño reached a fever pitch, vaulting into the ranks of the strongest events on record and wreaking havoc on weather patterns around the world. Now it is beginning to wane as the ocean cools, so what comes next?}

It’s possible that by next fall, the tropical Pacific Ocean could seesaw into a state that is roughly El Niño’s opposite, forecasters say. Called La Niña, this climate state comes with its own set of global impacts, including higher chances of a dry winter in drought-plagued California and warm, wet weather in Southeast Asia.

But El Niños and La Niñas are particularly difficult to predict at this time of year, so exactly what happens remains to be seen.

Warm-Cool Cycle
El Niño and La Niña are part of a cycle that runs over the course of three to seven years. While El Niño features warmer-than-normal ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific — much warmer in the case of this exceptional El Niño — La Niña features colder-than-normal waters in the same region.

Those changes in ocean temperatures are accompanied by changes in the atmosphere: During El Niño, convection and rains shift eastward and the normal east-to-west trade winds weaken or even reverse, while during La Niña, the normal dry state of the eastern Pacific intensifies along with the trade winds. Those atmospheric effects set off a domino effect around the world that can shift normal weather patterns.

This El Niño reached a peak in ocean temperatures in November and those waters have been cooling off ever since, following the normal progression. That decline means” it’s almost a certainty that [the tropical Pacific Ocean is] going to go back to neutral in about two months,” Anthony Barnston, chief forecaster at Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society, said.

What’s still up in the air is whether it stays neutral or continues to cool until it reaches a La Niña state.

La Niña’s don’t always follow after El Niños, but seem more likely to do so after a strong El Niño, based on the historical record. That record is quite short, though, which makes it hard to draw firm conclusions from it.

But the underlying physics of the El Niño cycle offers some reason to think that strong El Niños do tend to lead to La Niñas.

El Niños generate large-scale waves in the ocean (these aren’t like the waves that break on the water’s surface). One set, called Kelvin waves, travel from west to east and cause warming, enhancing the El Niño.

The other, called Rossby waves, travel in the opposite direction until they reach Indonesia, where they bounce off the landmass and head back east. Eventually, the Rossby waves catch up to the El Niño and cause cooling, in something of an act of self-sabotage.

“The El Niño sort of kills itself,” Barnston said.

The stronger the El Niño, the stronger the Rossby waves it generates. If those waves are strong enough, they can not only kill off the El Niño, but “overshoot” in the other direction, driving the system towards a La Niña state, Barnston said.

Current Cooling
The Rossby waves usually disrupt the El Niño pattern about six months after it peaks, or, right about now. Indeed, forecasters have noted a cool down below the surface of the eastern tropical Pacific in recent weeks, though surface water temperatures are still firmly in El Niño territory. They will gradually follow the subsurface cool-off, though, likely reaching neutral territory by late spring.

If a La Niña is in the offing, those waters should be cooling further by mid-summer, though, like El Niño, it wouldn’t peak until late fall or early winter.

Right now Barnston puts the odds at slightly better than 50 percent that a La Niña does develop.

What is very unlikely to happen is a return to El Niño conditions, which almost never occur in back-to-back years because of that self-sabotage mechanism. (It only tends to happen when there is an unusually late-developing El Niño that can then persist and peak again the following year.)

La Niña, on the other hand, can last for two to three years because the large-scale waves it generates aren’t as well-defined. “It’s not equal and opposite to what you get during El Niño,” Barnston said, so La Niña doesn’t tend to undercut itself the way El Niño does.

It’s far too early to tell how strong any La Niña that does develop might be, forecasters say.

“It’s difficult to forecast strength of events. An added difficulty is that things change pretty quickly when an event is decaying — this is the time of year when the accuracy of forecasts is lower,” Catherine Ganter, a senior climatologist with Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, said in an email.

Barnston said they should have a better idea of the potential strength by August, possibly a bit sooner if there is a very sharp cool down in Pacific Ocean temperatures.

April 10, 2016
BP ordered to pay $20b over 2010 oil spill

{US federal judge approves settlement that covers environmental damage and other claims by five states along Gulf coast.}

A federal judge in the US state of Louisiana has granted final approval to an estimated $20bn settlement over the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, resolving years of litigation over what caused one of the biggest ever environmental disasters.

The settlement, first announced in July last year, includes $5.5bn in civil Clean Water Act penalties and billions more to cover environmental damage and other claims by the five US states along the Gulf coast, including Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana.

The money is to be paid out over roughly 16 years over what has been called the biggest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

The US Justice Department has estimated that the settlement will cost the oil giant as much as $20.8bn, the largest environmental settlement in US history as well as the largest-ever civil settlement with a single entity.

US District Judge Carl Barbier, who approved the settlement, had set the stage with an earlier ruling that BP had been “grossly negligent” in the offshore rig explosion that killed 11 workers and caused a 134-million-gallon spill.

In 2012, BP reached a similar settlement agreement with private attorneys for businesses and residents who claim the spill cost them money.

That deal, which did not have a cap, led to a protracted court battle over subsequent payouts to businesses. A court-supervised claims administrator is still processing many of these claims.

BP has estimated its costs related to the spill, including its initial cleanup work and the various settlements and criminal and civil penalties, will exceed $53bn.

“We are pleased that the Court has entered the Consent Decree, finalising the historic settlement announced last July,” BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said in an email.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch praised the settlement.

“Today’s action holds BP accountable with the largest environmental penalty of all time while launching one of the most extensive environmental restoration efforts ever undertaken,” Lynch said in a statement.

In Louisiana, where delicate coastal marshes were damaged by the oil, Governor John Bel Edwards said the decision clears the way for the state to receive critical coastal restoration funding. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, who acted as a coordinating lawyer for the five Gulf states, also was among those touting the settlement.

David Uhlmann, a University of Michigan law professor and former chief of the Justice Department’s environmental crimes section, said Barbier’s ruling “ends a long sad chapter in American environmental history.”

“The question that remains is whether we have learned enough from this tragedy to prevent similar environmental disasters in the future,” he said.

While overall reaction to the settlement has been positive, there were lingering complaints that some of the BP payments may be tax-deductible for the oil giant. Court documents state that the civil penalties will not be tax deductible, although other settlement costs could be.

“We are saddened to learn that the gross negligence of BP continues to enjoy taxpayer subsidies,” Lukas Ross of Friends of the Earth said in an emailed news release.

April 5, 2016
Why some male hyenas leave and others are content to stay home

{There must be something wrong with the guy who never leaves home, right? Maybe not — at least if that guy is a male spotted hyena. Males that stay with their birth clan, instead of taking off to join a new group, may simply be making a good choice, a new study suggests.}

Spotted hyenas are a matriarchal society. Females are in charge. They rank higher than every male in the clan. And the females generally stay with the clan for their entire lives. But males face a choice when they reach two and a half years in age. They can stay with the clan, or they can leave and join a new clan.

Each choice has its pros and cons. Staying with the clan means that a male hyena keeps a place at the top of the male pecking order. He’ll probably have his mother around to help. But he’ll be limited in the number of females he can mate with, because many of the female hyenas won’t mate with him because they might be related. If he joins a new clan, the male hyena might have access to more females — and they might even be better than the ones in his home clan — but he’ll start with the lowest social rank and have to spend years fighting his way to the top.

Among most group-living mammal species, the guys that stay at home turn out to be losers, siring fewer offspring. But spotted hyenas, it appears, are an exception.

Eve Davidian of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin and colleagues tracked 254 male spotted hyenas that lived in eight clans in Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania throughout their lives, a study lasting 20 years. When these males reached the age of maturity, they left their clans to take a look at the other options available to them. Forty-one hyenas returned to their home clans, and 213 settled with new ones.

Even though the males that stayed at home probably had fewer potential breeding partners, they still managed to sire as many offspring as those males that left for greener pastures. Many mated at an earlier age, and they tended to mate with higher-ranking females than males that joined new clans. And both groups lived similar lengths of time, the researchers report March 18 in Science Advances.

The guys who stay at home, it seems, aren’t losers who couldn’t find better prospects elsewhere. They just found good enough prospects at home, where they are at the top of the social ladder — and have mom around to help them get access to food and females.

Seems like a good strategy — for hyenas, at least.

March 29, 2016
South Africa:Weather Update: Strong winds, massive swells expected along Cape coast

{Cape Town – The South African Weather Service has warned of high seas with wave heights of between six and nine metres from Cape Point to Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape. Along this coast, a 30% chance of rain can also be expected for Monday, 28 March. }

For Sunday evening, the South African Weather Service also warned of gale force northwesterly winds of 65 to 75km/h expected between Cape Point and Port Alfred.

The Cape saw some heavy downpour on Saturday night, 26 March, which led to icy conditions in the highest areas in the Cape. The first SNOW of the season was also recorded and photographed in the high Matroosberg peaks on Sunday morning, as was predicted by Snow Report SA and other snow forecasters.

Although no more snow has been forecast for the coming days, another cold front is predicted to hit the Cape from the southwest on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. This cold front may also bring more rain to the Cape and surrounding area, moving up from the south.

For Monday, 28 March, temperatures will be cool in the western side of the country. Cape Town can expect a high of 20°C, while Port Elizabeth will be 22°C.

The northern and eastern parts of the country will be warmer. Pretoria will be 29°C on Monday, while Skukuza will reach a hot max of 41°C.

March 28, 2016
Bamboo’s Ability to Store Carbon Called Into Question

{For years people have promoted bamboo as an eco-friendly material for everything from countertops to chopsticks. The fast-growing plant has been thought to store up carbon from the atmosphere as it grows, trapping the greenhouse gas.}

But scientists had never actually measured bamboo’s storage ability. Now a study casts doubt on that process and even suggests that bamboo may be a carbon emitter. The researchers are quick to point out that their work was limited to only two plants grown over a short period of time, and that much more investigation is needed before bamboo’s green cred can be rejected or reaffirmed.

Bamboo is a fast-growing business, worth $27 billion in China alone, a figure that could rise to $48 billion by 2020. To better understand how the recent shift to cultivating and using more bamboo affects carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, scientists in India wrapped two bamboo plants tightly in plastic. One was six months old and the other was a year old. Next, they measured the gas exchange across the plants’ tissues for 24 hours.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the scientists would see carbon dioxide going into the plant and oxygen leaving, thanks to the equation of photosynthesis. But what they found surprised them, says study leader E.J. Zachariah, a researcher at the National Centre for Earth Science Studies in Thiruvananthapuram.

The plants actually appeared to release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, the team reported in February in the journal Plant Biology. These releases were higher when outside temperatures were warmer and in the younger plant. The gas may have come from incomplete photosynthesis as the plants grew quickly, through other processes inside the plants, or from the plants’ ability to draw the gas up out of the soil, says Zachariah, who notes more research is needed.From the day-long study period, the scientists extrapolated across the whole eight-year lifespan of the bamboo, estimating that the plants are net emitters of carbon dioxide during that time, not net sinks, as has been commonly assumed.

“Our work suggests bamboo behaves more like rice when it comes to carbon dioxide than woody plants,” Zachariah says, referring to the fact that rice is thought to release carbon during its lifetime while trees tend to store it up.

Still, Zachariah cautions that the measurements were made on only one of 1,500 species of bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris), under a limited range of environmental conditions, and only for a short time.

“We have not yet done a study over the whole lifecycle of the plant,” says Zachariah. “So it is too early to say how bad bamboo is for carbon overall. But we have found an interesting new observation, and we hope more research will take place.”

Troubling Conclusion
When asked to review the new research, three plant scientists who study bamboo at other institutions and who are linked through the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan call the work interesting but say the final conclusion is questionable.

Zachariah’s research methods were problematic, according to Guomo Zhou and Xinzhang Song from China’s Zhejiang A & F University and Changhui Peng from the University of Quebec. Two plants make up too small of a sample size for any reasonable conclusions, they say. Twenty-four hours also isn’t long enough, and extrapolating over eight years introduces too much uncertainty.

“Carbon emissions should be greatly variable with different growing season and bamboo age,” the scientists write in an email.

To really assess the net impact of a bamboo forest on the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, more variables would have to be measured, such as emissions from soil microbes. To conclude from this limited study that bamboos may be net carbon emitters is “misleading and unacceptable,” the scientists write.

Not the Only Knock Against Bamboo
Materials scientist Andrew Dent agrees that more studies are needed before making any generalizations about bamboo and carbon. Still, he adds that if additional research were to find more negative effects, “it could be a problem for the marketing of bamboo for sustainability.”

The green credibility of the material has also occasionally been questioned for other reasons, says Dent, who serves as vice president of Material ConneXion, an institute and library for study of eco-friendly materials with locations in several countries.

Some natural forests in Asia have been cleared as farmers have switched to profitable bamboo plantations. And fabric made from bamboo is typically processed with harsh industrial chemicals, raising concerns about pollution. Designers should also consider the environmental impacts of shipping bamboo from around the world when they might be able to use a renewable material that is available locally.

There are many considerations behind each choice of material, says Dent, and one product isn’t always best for every application.

“The idea that any material is going to be a silver bullet for sustainability is a challenge,” says Dent. “People thought bamboo was an amazing material, but we need to choose carefully and assess the best information that is available.”

March 28, 2016
Rwanda to host 2016 Africa Carbon Forum

Rwanda has been selected to host the 8th Africa Carbon Forum, a continental meeting organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa Low Emission Development Partnership and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA).

The meeting will convene in Kigali from 28 to 30 June 2016 and will bring together over 600 climate change experts, carbon market players, policymakers and project developers from across Africa.

The conference will discuss innovative projects, programmes and investment opportunities for low carbon and climate resilient development in Africa, such as the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative and Africa Initiative on Adaptation, Loss and Damage. The gathering will also discuss the sources of climate finance and how to access them, among other climate change related topics.

Rwanda was chosen to host the conference because of its efforts in environment protection and climate change mitigation as well as experience in hosting major international events.

Yesterday, 23 March 2016, the Government of Rwanda, represented by the Deputy Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority, Eng. Coletha Ruhamya, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the representative of the UNFCCC Secretariat James Grabert regarding the hosting of the meeting. The agreement sets out terms and conditions agreed between the UNFCCC Secretariat and the Government of Rwanda with respect to the hosting of the 8th Africa Carbon Forum.

Speaking yesterday, James Grabert, Coordinator of Sustainable Development Mechanism Programme in the UNFCCC Secretariat, said, “The UNFCCC Secretariat thanks Rwanda for accepting to host the 2016 Africa Carbon Forum. We have a lot of expectations from this meeting.”

During the signing of the agreement, Eng. Coletha Ruhamya said, “It’s a privilege for Rwanda to host this important meeting. It is a chance to share our experience in low carbon development with the continent and we will do our best to make it very successful.”

After signing, the UNFCCC Secretariat representative, James Grabert, also made a courtesy call to the Minister of Natural Resources, Dr Vincent Biruta, to discuss what organisers are expecting from Rwanda as the country mobilises local and international stakeholders to participate in the 2016 Africa Carbon Forum.

Hosting the 2016 Africa Carbon Forum will be an opportunity for Rwanda to share with other African countries and the rest of world its initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions including vehicle emissions control. It will also be an occasion to share the work of the National Fund for the Environment and Climate Change (FONERWA), which is the first of its kind in Africa and through which climate change mitigation projects are financed.

Held every year since 2008, the Africa Carbon Forum is an occasion for carbon market players, African policymakers, investors and project developers to share the latest knowledge and opportunities for collaboration on regional and global climate change initiatives.

March 25, 2016
Rwanda needs over Rwf 500 billion to build a climate change resilient economy

{A recent survey conducted by Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) has established that Rwanda needs at least more than Rwf 527,000,000,000 in the next 15 to be able to come up with climate change mitigation initiatives. }

This was revealed yesterday during the presentation of a research undertaken by IPAR on climate change resilience.

In the recent two years Rwanda has faced various disasters some of which have taken people’s lives, ravaged the environment and infrastructures.

The Executive Secretary of IPAR, Eugenie Kayitesi, said that strategic policies are needed to tackle climate change effects which are on rise.

“Nowadays, climate change effects are tremendously increasing. Rainstorms are ravaging citizens’ dwelling units, taking people’s lives and destroying a wide number of infrastructures. Global warming has also increased. We encourage the government to explore all possibilities of increasing efforts in addressing these challenges if we want sustainable development,” she said.

The IPAR research results indicate that much effort is needed in mobilization for countering climatic ravages and take measures to reduce the number of increasing motor engines in Kigali city which call for more demand for the usage of petroleum products.

The vice governor of National Bank of Rwanda, Monique Nsanzabaganwa who represented the government in the presentation of the IPAR research said that everyone’s cooperation is needed to support government initiatives.

“This is a good opportunity to think about the way of countering climate change effects…Government’s institutions and private investors’ role is needed to address the matter,” she said.

March 25, 2016
Forest Landscape Restoration Hub launched in Rwanda

{Rwanda targets to restore 2,000,000 hectares of devastated forests by 2020.The move is in response to population growth and their need for fuel which results in forests destruction in Rwanda and East African region (EAC).}

Despite forests ravages, many people expect sustainable solutions from the Forest Landscape Restoration Hub (FLRH), an institution which restores ravaged forests and valleys which was launched in Rwanda yesterday. The later will provide technical assistance, cash assistance and provide information about areas in need of restoration. This institution will be based in Kigali.

Talking about the importance of launching the Forest Landscape Restoration Hub, the assistant secretary of EAC in charge of social welfare and harvest, Jesca Eriyo said “This is an opportunity we obtain as a region to have this institution operating in Rwanda since it will help to mend ravages. When a forest is restored, it contributes better to the protection of land and helps in addressing climate change among others.”

The coordinator of FLRH, Charles Karangwa said that the institution will be connecting 24 countries from East Africa and South Africa regions and will help them to establish ways of restoring land and forests, connecting these countries with partners and sharing knowledge needed among International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Charles Karangwa shared that FLRH has already provided support to restore destroyed forests in Rutsiro and Gicumbi districts.

Through the support of FLRH 12,000,000 hectares of forests will be restored in EAC.2,000,000 hectares will be restored in Rwanda;2,000,000 in Burundi;5,000,0000 hectares in Tanzania and 2,500,000 hectares will be restored in Uganda.

Charles said that Rwanda was selected to host the FLRH because of demonstrating willingness and efforts in mending destroyed forests.

The director of Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA), Dr. Emmanuel Nkurunziza said that they target to plant forests on 30% of Rwanda’s land before 2020.Currently forests occupy 29.6% of Rwanda’s land.

Dr.Nkurunziza explained that there is a plan of reducing the usage of wood related fuel among Rwandans from 98% to 50%.

The Forest Landscape Restoration Hub was launched yesterday while the World celebrated the International Day of Forests.

March 22, 2016
Rubbish pickup resumes in Lebanon in bid to end crisis

{Dozens of trucks begin carrying rubbish swamping Beirut to landfills as temporary solution to eight-month crisis.}

The Lebanese government has launched a bid to dispose of the mountains of rubbish swamping the suburbs of the capital Beirut, in what residents hope will lead to the end of the country’s eight-month garbage crisis.

On Saturday, dozens of trucks started carrying rubbish to the Naameh landfill just south of the city – one of three landfills opened as part of a temporary solution announced by the government a week ago.

The government said that Naameh, the country’s main landfill, will open again for just two months. The crisis began in July, when the landfill was scheduled to close with no realistic alternatives.

Residents of the Naameh area said the dump was over capacity and began blocking the roads to prevent rubbish trucks from reaching it.

Despite anger by residents, there were no protests against the reopening of the landfill on Saturday.

In the north Beirut suburb of Jdeideh, home to one of the largest rubbish piles, a bulldozer loaded thousands of rubbish bags into trucks.

Fadwa Saad had to wear a mask to avoid the smell of the rubbish that could be seen from her balcony.

“We are coughing, we have allergies and there are mosquitoes and flies in our homes,” she told the AP news agency. “They say they are removing trash. We hope that they really remove it, not only do it for one day and leave the rest.”

As rubbish began piling up in Beirut last year, protesters formed the “You Stink” movement, demanding sweeping reform in Lebanon’s government – blamed for the mismanagement and neglect that led to the rubbish buildup and failure to act against it.

Since the peaks of the protest in the summer, authorities managed to blunt the public anger by ensuring that the streets of Beirut were kept relatively rubbish-free. However, the rubbish was instead pushed to the city’s periphery, where it piled up along roadsides and the banks of the Beirut River.

March 21, 2016