Karam launches “The Permanent National Conference on Environment”
Environment Minister Antoine Karam on Sunday launched a national conference on the environment under the auspices of Lebanese First Lady Wafaa Sleiman.
The conference, entitled “The Permanent National Conference on Environment,” brought together 200 members of environmental associations and close to 45 civil society organizations.
The environment minister highlighted the importance of protecting service ministries in Lebanon from getting bogged down in the maze of politics.
Karam told an audience of politicians and journalists that there was no excuse for the delay in tackling environmental problems in Lebanon.
“The slow accumulation of the causes of environmental degradation, especially since the industrial revolution, has brought us to the brink of collapse,” he said.
Marouni added that Lebanon’s most important economic sectors, tourism and investment, are dependent on the country’s nature.
“Turmoil and political conflict in Lebanon comes and goes, but if the environment disappears, it may never come back,” Marouni said at the Habtoor Hotel.
The minister also lauded US President Barack Obama’s attention to the environment.