Lebanese environmentalists on Saturday sank 10 old tanks and armoured vehicles to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in a novel attempt to attract divers and create new habitats for marine life.

Three kilometres off the coast of the city of Sidon, a huge crane on the back of a ship manoeuvred the military hardware into place over the water before dropping them down to the seabed one after the other.

The initiative to create an "underwater park" is spearhead by a local group, Friends of the coast of Sidon, which got the Lebanese army to hand over some of it old vehicles for the project.

"This will be a paradise for divers and a place where we can develop underwater life," said NGO representative Kamel Kozbar, who hopes seaweed will soon cover the vehicles.

Lebanon boasts some 200 kilometres of Mediterranean coast but beaches have not been spared from a waste and garbage crisis that has plagued Lebanon for years.

In Sidon, a mountain of smelly trash has scarred the shoreline, despite the presence of a new waste management facility.

In a region fraught with tensions the latest project also has some political undertones.

The tanks have been placed with their turrets facing towards Lebanon's southern foe Israel "out of solidarity for the Palestinian people", Kozbar said.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Tweet

Ocean acidification is disrupting marine ecosystems, study shows
Washington (UPI) Jul 27, 2018
Ocean acidification is already significantly altering marine ecosystems, and if CO2 concentrations continue to rise, the effects of ocean acidity could be even more profound. By studying the impacts of volcanic CO2 seeps off the coast of Japan, scientists have gained a better understanding of how increasing CO2 concentrations are likely to reshape marine ecosystems. "These CO2 seeps provide a vital window into the future," Sylvain Agostini, researcher at the University of Tsukuba Shimoda ... read more