Community-based Wildfire Risk Management in Lebanon’s Vulnerable Landscapes

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According to data from the 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessment (FAO, 2016), forests and other woodlands cover 23.4% of Lebanon’s land area. There are several direct and indirect drivers of forest degradation in Lebanon, including drivers (e.g. urban expansion, pests and diseases, overgrazing) that have negative feedback loops leading to an increase in the numbers and intensity of forest fires; climate change has further exacerbated this trend. Forest fires are often attributed to inadequate forest management, lack of fire prevention initiatives, poor law enforcement, insufficient resources for civil defense and the poor awareness amongst the public. The lack of implementation of the current national forest fire strategy and increasing fire incidences due to development and agricultural activities have further degraded and destroyed Lebanon’s forest landscapes. The project will reduce wildfire risks by improving sustainable forest landscape management in selected fire hotspots in Lebanon. The project will support Lebanon to manage (i) forest fire risks and actual occurrences in a more timely and effective manner; and (i) integrating forest fire risk considerations into the sustainable management of selected forest landscapes. The project is consistent with the (i) National Forest Plan (NFP) 2015-2025 which forms the main forestry policy instrument; and (ii) the updated National Forest Fire Management Strategy (2023).The project will have three components: • Component 1 will enhance the enabling environment for wildfire management to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation at the national, regional, & local levels.• Component 2 will provide investments to support forest and fire management as well as restoration activities in the context of community-based forest management.• Component 3 will focus on establishing a gender-responsive M&E system; implementing a KM/L plan and communications. A Project Management Unit (PMU) at the Ministry of Environment will be established which will closely collaborate with relevant stakeholders, incl. MoA, the DRM Unit, the General Directorate of Civil Defense and participating municipalities. The targeted landscapes (Akkar, Minieh-DInniyeh, Aley-Shouf – incl. areas from Metn-Baabda) are categorized by the MoE as “fire hotspot” areas which are assessed with a high risk for forest fires and very high exposure to land degradation. These areas are important not only from an environmental point of view but also contribute significantly to peoples’ livelihoods, economic activities and biodiversity conservation.