Lebanon

World Day to Combat Desertification - (WDCD)

June 17, 2004

The Combating Desertification Project (CDP) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of Agriculture organized a field visit to the North East of Bekaa on the 16th of June 2004 to celebrate this year's World Day to Combat Desertification (officially celebrated on 17 June) . It brought together representatives from embassies, national and international foundations, national institutions, NGOs, the local media, and environment-related projects. The trip included site visits to the villages of Aarsal, Deir Al-Ahmar and Yammouneh to raise awareness on the problem of desertification and to present an overview of the on-going projects being undertaken to combat desertification and increase development in the region.

Desertification in Lebanon, and specifically in the regions visited, is mainly caused by the exploitation and mismanagement of natural resources, overgrazing by herders, and deforestation, as well natural phenomena such as climatic variations, wind erosion and floods that degrade the fertile top soil, turning fertile land into useless desert. Among the activities undertaken by the project in order to ensure sustainable management of resources and to alleviate poverty, local communities are being encouraged to take action against desertification through awareness raising activities, training and capacity building, reforestation, etc. since they are the most concerned stakeholders in improving their livelihoods and reducing vulnerability.

In Aarsal, many research projects are currently ongoing, many of which are in collaboration with the Aarsal Rural Development Association (ARDA). The sites visited including the fattening unit for sheep and a nursery of aromatic plants and legumes implemented in order to rehabilitate the rangeland cover.

In Deir Al-Ahmar - Yammouneh area, an agro-tourism project was initiated by the Women Association of Deir Al-Ahmar (WADA) and funded by the Ministry of agriculture and the United Nations Development Programme project in order to enhance the socio-economic conditions of the local small family farms through ensuring additional income, and to support the organic farming practices. The WADA center was visited and its initiative presented to the participants, while a brief presentation was given on the agro-tourism project.