Privatization of Lebanon’s Beaches

Maria Boulos
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​Privatization of beaches is regarded as an infringement on the right of people to access and enjoy public spaces, and the source of continuous debates over many years. To start, it can be defined as the legal ownership and control of a certain entity (individual or company) over beaches for the purpose of profit. Those engaged in the legal sphere argue over the legality of beach privatization and the laws that define it, or in some cases, lack thereof. While businesspeople and investors are mostly in favor of privatization, ordinary citizens have expressed various viewpoints around the issue. 

Beach privatization effectively started during the civil war of 1975, as developers took advantage of the absence of governmental authorities and their ability to enforce land administration laws, specifically what concerns public land and its management (such as Decree No. 144/1926).  The government’s absence coupled with the lack of measured and strategic policies and decrees aimed at the management of public property is what further increased the permissiveness in coastal land use and privatization, leading to very few remaining public beaches.
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While this topic is a source of controversy due to the many different opinions about public spaces and the number of business interests that the Lebanese coast supposedly holds; it is important to examine the issue of beach privatization as objectively as possible and identify the policies that have worked for the public interest and those that have not. For this purpose, this piece will tackle beach privatization from all its relevant angles, including the legal one and the associated implications on the economic and social levels.
 
Law on public spaces and maritime space ownership
The first regulation on public beach spaces dates as far back as 1925, Decision No.144 enacted by the High Commissioner of France, stipulating that all spaces intended for public use “cannot be sold and no ownership over them can be acquired with time.” This decision remains in force to this day, but a number of laws and decrees enacted over the years have rendered it vague to some extent, especially with what concerns coastal land management and the conditions of its use.

A number of exemptions concerning the use of coastal land allowed further expansion to happen over the years, materialized through notions such as “no one shall have the right to use it [coastal public property] in favor of a personal or private interest, unless in exceptional cases where the project bears a public aspect and has justifications for tourism or industry” as noted in Decree No. 4810/1966. Another example is Law 402/1995, which exempts the construction of hotels on the coast from certain provisions of the Law of Construction and allows developers an increased exploitation range.

The above-mentioned laws and regulations originally required investors to develop adjacently to public coasts and keep a distance between the maritime zone and the roads. However, only 20% of the entire coast is currently unobstructed. Even so, developers and other entities still actively attempt to expand and start new projects on the shore, while the lack of oversight and accountability further facilitates their endeavors. The issue of beach privatization hasn’t seen any major developments in terms of amendments in laws that preserve the right to access public land freely. Having said this, some effort has been expended – through the Ministry of Environment’s “Lebanon’s Marine Protected Area Strategy" – on the environmental protection of what little public beaches are left, to encourage the use of public spaces and protect the livelihoods of those who rely on free access to the shore.
 
Implications of beach privatization
The first implication of beach privatization is the lack of free access to coastal land, which directly clashes with the right to enjoy public spaces. This lack of access is accompanied by the economic strain that follows when trying to access privatized beach spaces. Entrance fees have increased exponentially over the years with the economic crisis and have made it harder for all social classes to access the beach. In June 2024, L’Orient Today confirmed that entrance fees can reach as high as USD 60, despite the beach owner's union insistence that it does not exceed USD 35. Demand increases, partially attributed to the demand by expatriates, has also led to the perceived need to privatize more of the coast.

Second, the Lebanese government has allowed for projects to be implemented on the shores in return for fees and taxes supposedly intended to finance improvement of public beaches, including cleaning the shores. But there has been no observed change in the cleanliness of public beaches, and most are in fact among the most polluted sites along the Mediterranean, where swimming is not recommended. This has raised questions about the transparency of conduct of the authorities, as well as the effectiveness of policies in place.

Another implication falls within the socio-cultural scope, whereby there are conflicting opinions about the return that resorts bring to citizens and residents. Some believe that private beaches contribute to the creation of jobs and boost the tourism sector. Meanwhile, private coastal resorts have also increased the social disparity between ordinary working-class citizens for which access is beyond their reach, and others who can afford the prices, conveying the sense that previously accessible beaches are now tailored only for the wealthy.

Reflections
Privatization of beaches seems to have created more problems and divisions, rather than bringing people together and boosting the economy in a sustainable manner. The goal of the state was to promote tourism and boost the local economy, but instead turned into paving the way for haphazard building on the coast, countless infringements on public space, and pollution and environmental damage of public spaces. Given this state of affairs, policies should be adjusted to better fit the public interest, as well as strive towards an informed citizenry who know their rights and understand the importance of measured policies. While the government has a responsibility to facilitate investment and encourage job creation as a way to support economic growth, people’s rights to public spaces, the protection of the livelihoods of citizens, some of which depend on this access, isn’t less important and must be properly fought for and preserved.

​About the Author
Maria Boulos was an intern in IFI's Research Development Unit.