Mapping and Reviving Ancestral Communal Pools (Birket) in Southern Lebanon: Survey Methods, Findings and Policy Pathways

Authors

  • Georges Gharios UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.14

Published

2026-02-21

Issue

Water & Heritage for Sustainable Development

Section

methodologies and case studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Georges Gharios

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Mapping and Reviving Ancestral Communal Pools (Birket) in Southern Lebanon: Survey Methods, Findings and Policy Pathways. (2026). Blue Papers, 136–45. https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.14

Keywords:

field survey, historical maps, oral history, decentralized storage, Southern Lebanon

Abstract

This article presents a mixed-methods survey of 101 birket across 86 villages in southern Lebanon, combining historical cartography, satellite imagery and ground-truthing with oral histories. It details site typologies, spatial patterns, present condition (functioning/abandoned/destroyed) and contemporary uses, and it demonstrates how dispersed small reservoirs can complement centralized systems. A focused case study of the village of Marwaheen traces the pool’s rehabilitation and associated gains in irrigated land and community engagement. Building on a resilience-based assessment (access/equity, adaptability, participation, ecological value, cultural relevance), the article identifies priority pools for restoration and translates results into practical policy pathways for municipal–NGO partnerships. The article offers openly reproducible mapping conventions and field templates to support future documentation without reliance on proprietary basemaps.

Author Biography

  • Georges Gharios, UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut

    Georges Gharios recently served as the National Programme Officer for Natural Sciences at UNESCO Beirut. He earned a PhD in water law from the University of Dundee, Scotland. As an agricultural engineer with substantial farming experience, his expertise spans water governance, traditional knowledge, the blue economy, biodiversity and the history and archaeology of water. He has a keen interest in the customs and practices of water conservation in Lebanon and water diplomacy across the Levant. Georges has served as a consultant for numerous international organizations and authored journal articles and presented at various conferences on the topic of water governance. He taught for five years at the American University of Technology in Halat, where his courses covered water law, water policy, water politics and soil sciences.

References

Bou Lahdou, Guy, Youssef Hraoui, Rabih Omeich, Farid Rached, and Ibrahim Saadeh. 2011. Reclaiming Traditional Water Conservation Practices in Rural South Lebanon. Final Year Project Report, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, American University of Beirut.

Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service (CCECS). 2011. The Case of Marwaheen Village: Report on Projects Executed and Proposed. American University of Beirut.

Gharios, Georges. 2017. “Customs and Practices of Water Conservation in Rural South Lebanon: Reclaiming Traditional Communal Irrigation Pools – birket.” 1st School of Social Sciences Research Forum, Dundee, Scotland.

Gharios, Georges. 2022. “The Resilient, the Insecure, and the Uncertain: Traditional Knowledge and Sustainable Development of Water in Lebanon – The Case of Birkets.” PhD thesis, University of Dundee.

Shibli, Rabih. 2011. Remodeling Harshscapes: A New Finding of Problematic Narratives. Course material, Landscape Design Programme, American University of Beirut.