Project

Sustainable Land Management in the Qaraoun Watershed

Lead country

Lebanon

Participating countries

Lebanon

Project status

Under implementation

Implementing period

From January 28, 2016 to July 27, 2021

SDGs addressed by this project

SDG targets

  1. 8.3 Promote job-creation, entrepreneurial policies
  2. 15.2 Promote sustainable forest management, restoration, afforestation
  3. 15.b Mobilize resources, incentives for sustainable forest management

Project ID: 4642

*The boundaries shown and the designations used on the above map and included in lists, tables and documents on this website do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations or UNDP | References to Kosovo* shall be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

Technical team

  • Ecosystems and Biodiversity Programme

Technical area(s)

  • Mainstreaming biodiversity

Sub-area(s)

  • Agrobiodiversity
  • Wildlife conservation
  • Ecosystem-based mitigation

Landscape(s)

  • Conserved areas
  • Forests
  • FreshWaters

Sub-landscape(s)

  • Key biodiversity areas (KBAs)

Transformed sector(s)

  • Forestry and other land use

UNDP role(s)

  • Capacity development / Technical assistance
  • Data collection and analysis
  • Institutional mechanism and system building

Strategy

  • Enabling
  • Capacity building
  • Management operation

Sub-strategy

  • Mainstream
  • Institutional capacity building
  • Sustainable land management

Social inclusion

N/A

Gender equality

  • Livelihoods for women

Gender result effectiveness scale

  • Gender targeted

Pathway(s)

  • Systems pathway
  • Sci-tech pathway
  • People pathway

Risk reduction target(s)

  • Improve resilience

SDG target(s)

  • 8.3 Promote job-creation, entrepreneurial policies
  • 15.2 Promote sustainable forest management, restoration, afforestation
  • 15.b Mobilize resources, incentives for sustainable forest management

Conventions and protocols

  • United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
  • National Adaptation Plan (NAP)

Private sector(s)

N/A

Hot topic

  • Poverty reduction

About this project

Description

The project will set a goal of wise land use on a sustainable long-term basis for the Qaraoun Catchment by developing institutional tools upstream at national level which will provide the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture as well as related agencies such as the Commission for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, the Bekaa Governorate, and District Administrations and Municipalities in West Bekaa, Zahle and Rachaya Districts with the know-how, means and mechanisms for promoting sustainable land use as in the best interest of the land owners, farmers and communities as well as the nation. Land-use plans at the landscape level will benefit from the project through the identification of land productivity values and ecosystem services and how they can be protected, and an effective monitoring system will be established to maintain all data up to date and discover any worrying trends before they become irreversible. At site-specific level, forests, rangelands and arable land that are currently weakly managed and poorly funded will benefit from comprehensive land use plans that will provide information and education as well as livelihoods and financial security. The implementation of the proposed project will have an immediate global environmental benefit, albeit on a small scale, through the increased management efficiency of arable land and rangelands and the expansion of the area under forests through land use plans, buffer zones, and riparian strips. This will lead to the restoration of natural productivity and conservation of the habitats of a number of plant and animal species and valuable ecosystems and will secure migratory bird pathways. As a result, globally significant biodiversity will be conserved and valuable ecosystem services will be safeguarded. As a result of the significant effort that the project will make on institutional capacity building and the mainstreaming of a sustainability ethic into land use, these benefits will be sustainable.

Objectives

Sustainable land and natural resource management alleviates land degradation, maintains ecosystem services, and improves livelihoods in the Qaraoun Catchment.

USD $3,287,671

Grant amount

USD $18,500,000

Leveraged amount (co-financing)

1

Source(s) of fund

Sources of fund

 

  • Global Environment Facility – Trust Fund ($3,287,671)

Implementing partner(s)

  • Government of Lebanon

Project metrics

Outcome 1:

Landscape level uptake of SLM measures avoids and reduces land degradation, delivering ecosystem and development benefits in the Qaraoun Catchment

 Indicators:

0.1 Alleviation of land degradation – Area in target districts managed according to SLM principles
0.2 Improvement in livelihoods: Improved quality of life among target communities, measured as:Number of new economic opportunities created within targeted communities
Core Indicator 3.2 Area of forest and forest land restored
Core Indicator 4.3 Area of landscapes under sustainable land management in production systems
1.1 Rehabilitation of degraded forest to improve forest patch connectivity, measured by:For areas with direct assisted restoration activities (on 300 ha): # of seedlings planted with >50% survival rate;For areas left to natural regeneration (on 10,000 ha): # of emerging seedlings/ha in sample plots1.2 Area of 10,000 ha of degraded rangelands recovered in targeted areas through SLM techniques, measured by XX samples across the targeted area, on:Soil/Site StabilityHydrologic function Total soil organic carbon Cover with native vegetationAlpha species diversity
1.3 Area of agricultural lands in targeted areas where SLM measures are being applied.
1.4 Percentage of land users (gender-disaggregated) in project localities in each of the three Districts that are applying SLM approaches in upland forests, rangelands, and valley arable lands
2.1 Number of local or district level land use plans in the targeted areas that integrate SLM approaches and thereby reduce pressure on natural resources.
2.2 Existence of a Land Use Management System (LUIMS) and Land Use Monitoring System to inform the integration of SLM into land use plans.
3.1 Capacity development indicator score for Land Use Planning and Management in West Bekaa and Rachaya Districts
3.2 Percentage change in the knowledge level of SLM as a rational approach for land use.Target group:
Key stakeholders (district and municipality officials, selected households of farmers, shepherds, etc. in Zahle, West Bekaa, and Rachaya)
3.3 Extent of mainstreaming of SLM: Existence of targets for SLM in national and/or local: policies, regulatory frameworks, strategies, and land use plans.
Existence of extension services to support the implementation of SLM.3.4 Existence of SLM tools and techniques for the improved management of degraded rangelands in targeted areas to achieve the main three attributes of ecosystem status:
• Soil/Site Stability
• Hydrologic function
• Integrity of the Biotic Community
Outcome 2:

Pressures on natural resources from competing land uses in the Qaraoun Catchment are reduced
Outcome 3:

Institutional strengthening and capacity enhancement for promoting sustainable forest and land management in the Qaraoun Catchment through an INRM approach across the landscape
Show more
Hide

Related resources

Geospatial information

Discover relevant spatial data related to this project/country/region, powered by UN BiodiversityLab

Project reports and documentation

 

Project Document (ProDoc)