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🇹🇳 Tunisia /Environment & Climate

Bizerte residents unite against 'destructive' coastal project

From La Presse · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Residents and environmental activists in Bizerte, Tunisia, are protesting against coastal development projects by the Agency for the Protection and Development of the Littoral (APAL).
  • Critics argue that the methods used, such as massive rock barriers, are environmentally damaging and economically unsound.
  • Activists are calling for simpler, traditional solutions and citing successful citizen mobilization in other cities as a model.

A growing wave of opposition is rising in Bizerte, Tunisia, targeting coastal development works initiated by the Agency for the Protection and Development of the Littoral (APAL). While APAL presents these projects as essential for "saving" the Corniche beaches, critics like civil engineer Abderrahman Ben Gaied Hassine contend the methods are not only inappropriate but pose a significant threat to the region's ecological and economic balance.

Our elders had developed adapted responses; we now prefer expensive and inappropriate projects.

— Abderrahman Ben Gaied HassineThe environmental activist and civil engineer criticized the current coastal protection methods.

Ben Gaied Hassine, a former official at the Technical Center for Construction Materials, Ceramics, and Glass and an environmental activist, points to massive rock embankments and heavy construction as particularly damaging. He argues that these rigid structures disrupt marine currents, accelerate erosion in adjacent areas, and destroy natural habitats. Furthermore, he asserts that these costly interventions offer limited efficiency and negatively impact tourism by transforming beaches into construction sites, thereby diminishing the city's appeal and economic resources.

Bizerte's citizens must be inspired by Mahdia. When civil society mobilizes, it can influence decisions with serious consequences.

— Abderrahman Ben Gaied HassineHe urged local residents to take action, citing a successful environmental protest in another Tunisian city.

Recalling traditional, effective methods employed decades ago, such as using sandbags to mitigate erosion and wave energy, a principle now replicated with geotextile tubes, Ben Gaied Hassine laments the preference for expensive and ill-suited projects. He draws inspiration from the successful citizen mobilization in Mahdia, where residents halted a similar coastal project. He urges Bizerte's citizens to follow suit, emphasizing that active civil society can influence decisions with far-reaching consequences. He also references a 2014 instance where citizen action and expert input led to the suspension of rock embankment work in Grottes, demonstrating that public engagement can restore balance when combined with knowledgeable specialists and active community support.

When decision-makers are confronted with specialists who master the file and are supported by an active civil society, balance can be restored.

— Abderrahman Ben Gaied HassineHe reflected on past successes where public pressure and expert knowledge led to policy changes.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Presse in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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