Demonstrators staged a protest outside World Bank offices in Lebanon's capital Monday over its key role in financing a controversial dam project that environmentalists say will destroy a valley rich in biodiversity.

"Bisri Dam = Destruction, Pollution, Earthquakes" and "Save The Bisri Valley", read banners and posters carried by the dozens of demonstrators gathered in downtown Beirut.

The dam to be built in the valley 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of the capital aims to supply drinking water as well as irrigation for 1.6 million residents.

Environmentalists and local farmers dispute assurances from the government and World Bank, the main financier with a loan of $474 million, that the dam to be built on a seismic fault line does not increase the risk of earthquakes.

"The World Bank is financing a project which will cause an ecological massacre and expel residents from their region," said Boutros Salim, a 54-year-old demonstrator.

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Ecosystem responses to dam removal complex, but predictable
Portland OR (SPX) Feb 28, 2019
In the United States, the removal of dams now outpaces the construction of new ones - with more than 1,400 dams decommissioned since the 1970s - and a new study suggests that the ecosystem effects of dam removal can be predicted. Published in the journal BioScience, the study identifies a consistent set of physical and biological processes that control ecological responses to dam removal. These processes, combined with the unique environmental conditions found at each dam, ultimately determine how ... read more