Three Korean experts from the Forest Research Institute in the Republic of Korea visited Lebanon between December 2 and December 5,2019.

Their first destination was Anjar in the Bekaa where they held fruitful meetings with local actors and authorities. The experts also visited the Cedars of God in Besharre, North Lebanon in addition to some sites affected by the latest fires in the lower Chouf, Mount Lebanon.

The objective of the visit is to know more about the Lebanese forests within the context of the latest collaboration between FAO and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.

On November 18, 2019, H.E. Young-Dae Kwon, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Lebanon, and Dr. Maurice Saade, FAO Representative in Lebanon, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of the FAO-led project “Enhancing the Resilience of Vulnerable Refugee Communities through Cash-for-Work”.  The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Association for Forests, Development and Conversation (AFDC) and the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea contributed with the amount of USD 500 000 to the project that aims at enhancing the livelihoods of vulnerable Lebanese and displaced Syrians through labor-intensive reforestation and forest management activities in the municipality of Anjar, Bekaa.

 In collaboration with the Ministry of the Agriculture (MoA) and the Municipality of Anjar, the project will implement reforestation and forest management activities over an area of 95 ha in Anjar. This will be done through recruiting Lebanese and displaced Syrians laborers from the localities of Anjar, Kfarzabad and Qab Elias in the Bekaa governorate.

The laborers will receive training on reforestation and forest management techniques. By doing so, the project will be creating short-term jobs for the displaced and for local communities while contributing to sustainable forest management, creation of green belts and wildfire prevention.