CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2019
| Author | Al Baghdadi, Alice Ali |
|---|---|
| Title | Stakeholder Acceptance of Phytoremediation Technology to Clean-up Agricultural Lands Adjoining Open Municipal Solid Waste Dumpsites: The Case of "Ras el Ein" Dumpsite, Southern Lebanon |
| Summary | “Deir Qanoun Ras el Ein” dumpsite, a 20-year-old top priority open MSW dump requiring rehabilitation in Lebanon, sits in the middle of 50 hectares of agricultural lands, cultivated with edible crops. As such, it poses a serious risk of contamination to the surrounding environment, including soil and cultivated crops, as well as a public health risk. As several options have been put forward to rehabilitate the dumpsite, this research targets the surrounding potentially contaminated agricultural lands. Contrary to engineered-based methods, phytoremediation presents low-tech, low-energy, inexpensive and green technology to clean-up and regenerate contaminated soils. This study aims at exploring the factors, which influence phytoremediation acceptability from the perspectives of public, farmers as well as experts. A mixed-methods approach was adopted where quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to address different involved stakeholders. A survey was carried out with 70 residents from “Deir Qanoun Ras el Ein” Municipality. Besides, semi-constructed in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 farmers and seven experts. The study findings have shown that risk perception, trust and values affect public acceptability of phytoremediation. As for farmer’s acceptance of the technology, it is similarly influenced by risk perception and trust in addition to benefit perception, provision of livelihood alternative and socio-economic factors. On the decision-making level, phytoremediation acceptability is determined by cost-efficiency, familiarity as well as public acceptance. With the numerous contaminated sites in Lebanon and minimal budget allocations for environmental conservation, phytoremediation could stand out as a feasible approach for remediation in Lebanon. |
| Supervisor | Illes, Zoltan and Centofanti, Tiziana |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2019/al-baghdadi_alice.pdf |
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