Funded by the Embassy of Switzerland, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Lebanon in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoE) and the North Lebanon Water Establishment (NLWE) organized an e-training on Water Accounting  and Productivity Systems facilitated by the Centre for Remote Sensing of the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS), on Monday, April 12, 2021.

Water resources engineers and GIS experts from the North Lebanon Water Establishment (NLWE) and other water institutions, including the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE), took part in this training.  

Participants were introduced to the concepts of water accounting / productivity and to the workflow of the ET (Evapotranspiration) SEBALI and the Automated Crop Classification systems. They also gained practical experience with the application of both systems on the target watershed.

The hands-on exercises, in specific, were carried out with the project’s core unit at the NLWE to ensure that their staff are empowered to utilize the system, enabling them to generate the needed data for better water management. “I discovered new monitoring tools today, said one participant. I believe if I use them, it will have great repercussions on our work and the population”

 This training is organized under the framework of the project “Improved Water Resources Monitoring System/Integrated Water Resources Management at regional level in Lebanon” funded by the Embassy of Switzerland. This project is implemented by FAO, in collaboration with the North Lebanon Water Establishment (NLWE), which represents the Ministry of Water and Energy. It aims at improving the performance and enhances the capacity of regional water management institutions leading to more effective planning and management of water resources and better water outcomes to end-users. The project also focuses on enhancing the monitoring of water resources in Minieh and Akkar irrigation schemes, North Lebanon.