The "Follow-up Meeting for the Development and Co-ordination of Regional Activities on Non-Wood Forest Products in the Near East" was jointly organized by the FAO Regional Office for the Near East (RNE), the Forest Products Division (FOPW) of FAO's headquarters, the FAO Representation in Lebanon and the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture - Rural Development and Natural Resources Directorate. The meeting was held at the Garden Hotel in Broumana - Mount-Lebanon, from 10 to 12 May 1999.
The meeting was organized upon the recommendations of the FAO International Expert Meeting on Medicinal, Culinary and Aromatic Plants in the Near East, which was held in Cairo in May 1997.
The objectives of the meeting were:
1. Inform participants on new developments in the region on Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP) and discuss and exchange experiences among actors involved in NWFP in the region;
2. Review the status of implementation of the recommendations from the Cairo Meeting;
3. Discuss a draft framework for a regional project on NWFP development in the Near East and seek inputs and consensus from the participants.
The meeting was opened by Mr Ghattas Akl, Director of Rural Development and Natural Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture, followed by Mr Amor Ben Romdhane, FAO Representative in Lebanon and Mr Adnan Alfares, FAO Regional Forestry Officer for the Near East.
The speakers stressed the importance of the meeting in terms of developing a regional co-operation program for the sustainable use of NWFP. They focused on the important role of FAO and other international organizations in backstopping and assisting the countries in their development process. Both Mr Ben Romdhane and Mr Alfares thanked the Government of Lebanon and the Ministry of Agriculture in particular for hosting the meeting.
The opening ceremony was closed by the intervention of Dr Albert Jokhadar, representing his Excellency the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Sleiman Frangieh. Dr Jokhadar welcomed the participants on behalf of the Lebanese Government, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Minister himself. He underlined the importance of this meeting and the great interest of the Minister in all the issues related to natural resources development, conservation and sustainable use.
The meeting elected Mr Ghattas Akl as Chairman and Mr Fady Asmar as rapporteur. Mr Adnan Alfares served as Secretary for the meeting.
The provisional agenda and timetable of the meeting as proposed by the Secretariat was adopted (see annex).