PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Fires destroy hundreds of hectares of forests, shrubs, and grasslands. They constitute the major reason for continued forest degradation in Lebanon. The Lebanese government considers combating forest fires to be a priority environmental issue and has established a number of relevant regulatory and institutional initiatives. The Civil Defence and Lebanese Army lead forest fire fighting efforts, but their actions often occur relatively late after fires have spread. Local communities participate in forest fire fighting either rarely or in an ad hoc fashion.
OBJECTIVES
The project’s overall objective was to establish an operational structure that will allow civil society to fight and prevent forest fires. The project aimed to set up a working mechanism to detect, prevent and fight forest fires through restoration, capacity building, public awareness and information campaigns in five areas of Mount Lebanon and South Lebanon. These areas have valuable mixed forests highly vulnerable to fires, where appropriate modalities of fire fighting techniques, restoration operations and emergency action plans to combat forest fire by the local communities can be applied. The specific objectives were to: - Build stakeholder and national participant capacities on forest fire issues, based on a participatory approach; - Select and restore 10 ha of degraded forest areas on selected sites; - Formulate an emergency plan to combat forest fires to be tested and demonstrated in five pilot areas; - Establish a regional database on forests, forest fires, and their impacts on sustainable human development; and - Establish an awareness programme targeted at national decision-makers, local authorities, farmer communities and schools.
RESULTS
The project succeeded in establishing an operational structure enabling civil societies to fight and avoid forest fires. This represents a sustainable investment in the preservation and development of remaining forests in Lebanon. The project was realized in five pilot areas: Ramlieh, Kornayel, Ras El Matn, Dmit and Mtein located in Mount Lebanon. The following results were achieved: - Enabling local groups including local committee members, concerned stakeholders and the Al-Shouf Cedar Society to undertake conservation actions such as restoration and prevention of forest fires; - Restoration of 13 hectares of degraded areas in the project sites; - Elaboration of Forest Restoration and Fire Prevention Action Plans for project sites; - Creation of a National Database for Forest Fires, the Forest Fire Risk Maps of Lebanon and the project sites; - Implementation of awareness campaigns and publishing project outputs at local and national levels; - Development of cooperation procedures with concerned public entities such as the Lebanese Civil Defence, the Lebanese Red Cross, the Army, Forest Guards Centres. The Ministry of Interior supported the project to launch and implement a National Media Campaign against Forest Fires.The project succeeded in establishing an operational structure enabling civil societies to fight and avoid forest fires. This represents a sustainable investment in the preservation and development of remaining forests in Lebanon. The project was realized in five pilot areas: Ramlieh, Kornayel, Ras El Matn, Dmit and Mtein located in Mount Lebanon. The following results were achieved: - Enabling local groups including local committee members, concerned stakeholders and the Al-Shouf Cedar Society to undertake conservation actions such as restoration and prevention of forest fires; - Restoration of 13 hectares of degraded areas in the project sites; - Elaboration of Forest Restoration and Fire Prevention Action Plans for project sites; - Creation of a National Database for Forest Fires, the Forest Fire Risk Maps of Lebanon and the project sites; - Implementation of awareness campaigns and publishing project outputs at local and national levels; - Development of cooperation procedures with concerned public entities such as the Lebanese Civil Defence, the Lebanese Red Cross, the Army, Forest Guards Centres. The Ministry of Interior supported the project to launch and implement a National Media Campaign against Forest Fires.
