Rethinking Sustainable Construction in Lebanon: From Legal Illusions to Effective Reform — Transformation or Illusion?

Abstract

Lebanon faces a profound crisis in the governance of the built environment, shaped by reconstruction, uncontrolled urbanization, environmental degradation, and weak public institutions. Although Lebanese law contains a relatively extensive body of legislation relating to urban planning, construction, and environmental protection, its fragmentation and limited enforcement have prevented the emergence of genuinely sustainable construction practices.

This article examines the legal and institutional shortcomings that delay the integration of environmental requirements into Lebanon’s construction sector. It argues that the separation between urban planning law and construction law, the absence of binding environmental standards in building permit procedures, the limited scope of technical control, the weak implementation of environmental impact assessments, and the overlap of administrative competencies have produced a regulatory framework that is more formal than effective.

Using a legal-institutional, historical, and doctrinal approach, the article argues that sustainable construction in Lebanon remains largely a legal illusion: norms and institutions exist, but they rarely transform construction practices or territorial development. The article therefore calls for structural reform based on the harmonization of legal frameworks, stronger enforcement mechanisms, clearer institutional responsibilities, mandatory environmental standards, and a shift toward performance-based building regulation.