Smart Adaptation of Forest Landscapes in Mountain Areas

Beirut – 10 November, 2016

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon have announced the signing of a new project under the title ‘Smart Adaptation of Forest Landscapes in Mountain Areas’ during a press conference in the Grand Serail.

This project is part of a series of projects that aim to increase forest areas in Lebanon, as they have suffered from cutting, fires, urban expansion  and quarries, resulting in forest losses equivalent to 35 percent of the forest cover.  Further threats to mountain forest ecosystems are exacerbated by climate change.  By 2040, rainfall is projected to decrease by 10-20 percent, temperatures to increase by 1-2°C and extreme weather events are expected to intensify, with drought periods projected to become 9 days longer.

In his statement, the Minister of Agriculture, H.E Mr. Akram Chehayeb said: “According to meteorological reports, there will be no rain from now until the end of the month. If the projections are right, and consequently like last year, we will be facing another period of drought. We have also been facing severe cases of desertification on a yearly basis, which requires us to seriously work on afforestation projects.” He added: “A forest fire has erupted this Monday, and is still ongoing until today. We have been trying to resist the fire with very limited resources.”

“Smart Adaptation of Forest Landscapes in Mountain Areas (SALMA)” is a five year project to be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Lebanon starting December 2016, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a budget of USD 7,147,635. It intends to enhance climate resilience of vulnerable forest ecosystems, while promoting the resilience and livelihoods of vulnerable rural communities in mountain areas through sustainable forest management of 1000 hectares, and the reforestation of another 1000 hectares. Interventions will also focus on reducing the risk of forest fires through the adoption of improved and innovative integrated management practices, as well as reducing the risk of pest outbreaks by promoting integrated forest management and forest restoration techniques. The project will also assist consortiums of municipalities and reforestation partners, such as NGOs and universities,  to develop and implement participatory reforestation plans.

In his opening statement, the Director of Rural and Natural Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Chadi Mohanna gave an overview of the National Afforestation and Reforestation Programme (NARP) also known as the 40 million trees program which was launched by the Lebanese Government in December 2012. He stressed on the importance of the SALMA project in contributing to the goal of the government to plant an additional 70,000 hectares by 2030.

After a brief presentation of the SALMA project, the Food and Agriculture Organization Representative in Lebanon, Dr. Maurice Saade added: “that, to date, this project provides the largest financial contribution to the NARP and will allow FAO to expand its ongoing support for the implementation of the NARP, for the coordination of reforestation efforts in Lebanon and for the mobilization of additional funds for future reforestation activities in order to achieve the stated goals by 2030.”