Protest movement from IndyACT on one of the proposed sites for the Cedars Island project

As a first step to stand in face of the scheme that shoots primarily to takeover our marine properties, and secondly destroy and pollute the marine life by constructing a cedar island. And after several movements of appeal and a meeting with the Nour holding Corporation funding the project- several independent activists from IndyACT decided to protest at Al Damour area, one of the proposed sites to build the island, carrying a banner that says “No you won’t”.

In their last meeting with experts and the head office of Nour, environmental and social organizations agreed not to take direct action against the company as long as the corporation would not promote its project before submitting a full assessment report of the project. But the Nour Holding Corporation provocatively decided to promote again its devastating project, and publicized it with a huge poster on the airport road declaring “We do what we say”.

“When we first saw the announcement, we were stunned and we realized that we cannot trust Nour corporation’s promises; therefore, and without delay, we decided to take action in order to show the huge impact this project can do on the environment, economy and society”, said Farah Salka, the program director in IndyACT and the event coordinator.

The proposed project has many environmental, social, and economical effects that may threaten the Lebanese way of living as we know it. Environmentally, this project requires the operation of big quarries in the Lebanese mountains, so that they can landfill the sea and create this island. This will lead to the destruction of both our mountains and our coasts and marine life. The project will not only impact the area that is land-filled. Creating such an island will affect sea currents, especially the ones that move sand and organic material from the Nile Delta to the northern Lebanese shores. This means that the Cedars Island project may destroy the marine life and fish wealth on a large portion of the Lebanese coast.

Economically, this project claims to offer 50,000 job opportunities to Lebanon, though no studies or evidences were provided. Many firms have tried to establish similar mega-projects in the past, promising that it will generate thousands of job opportunities, such as the ”Sannine” project; but, all these projects have failed because of the political instability.

As for the social side, this project is a trespass on public property, which is a right for every Lebanese citizen. Also, creating such an island might extend the split and the segregation between the rich class and the poor one, and lead the Lebanese distance away from their heritage, regions, and towns.

Desert countries such as UAE need projects similar to Palms Island because they do not have tourism factors that Lebanon has. Consequently, Lebanon does not need artificial projects to attract tourists. Actually, global tourism started to get tired from artificial projects which exist in several countries, and Lebanon will not be able to compete with Arab oil exporting countries in this regard. In fact, oil exporting countries in the Arab World have political stability and financial resources to support and develop continuously similar projects. Tourists always search for what is unique, and what distinguishes Lebanon regionally and globally are its climate and its natural environment. Lebanon's natural beauty is the basis of its wealth, and the economy must be built on it. "Lebanese government must work to protect natural wealth, and to invest in small and medium-sized businesses in all parts of the Lebanese territories in order to preserve Lebanese heritage, and to contribute to the balanced development all over the country" said Wael Hmaidan, the executive director of IndyACT, "in addition to the political stability, these propositions could be the only guarantied and sustained solution to revive Lebanon's economy".

IndyACT warns all the companies that were listed on the Nour Corporation’s poster (Philips, LG, Panasonic, IHLAS, Concierge Residency Hotel, and Feasibility), and demands them to cut their links with Nour Holding Corporation, and not to support the draft of the destructive Cedars Island project. IndyACT is now in the process of preparing a regional and global campaign, through its partners around the world in order to boycott Nour Holding Corporation and all its companies that support the project of “Cedars Island”.
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