The Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Korean Embassy in Lebanon Mr. Woosic Shin visited the forest management and reforestation site in Anjar on October 6, 2020.

He held fruitful meetings with local actors and was briefed on the implementation of activities especially that the site has witnessed a suspension of some of the activities due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

This activity is implemented within the FAO project “Enhancing the Resilience of Vulnerable Refugee and Host Communities through Cash-for-Work” funded by the Government of Korea, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, and partnership with the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI), the Association for Forests, Development and Conservation (AFDC), and Anjar municipality. The activity in this site was made possible through the commitment of the civil society, local women and men.

The project started in November 2019, and is funded by the Government of Korea (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) with a budget of USD 500 000. In collaboration with the Ministry of the Agriculture and the Municipality of Anjar, FAO and the partner NGOs are undertaking reforestation activities over an area of 25 ha and 9 km of green belts and implementing sustainable management of 27 ha of forests and riparian ecosystems in Anjar. This is done through recruiting Lebanese and displaced Syrians laborers from Anjar and nearby communities (more than 150 households and 11 000 days of work).

Mr. Shin saluted the efforts made in the context of this project in particular all the efforts made by the local community, to help in the success of this project, despite all the delays caused by the COVID-19 and the severe economical crisis the country is going through.

The project in collaboration with the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI) and the Association for Forests, Development and Conservation have trained the local community on forest management and the role of women in the forestry sector.

For Mr. Shin, the project is successful and the municipality and the workers are working hard.

 “I am glad that we are contributing to making more people happy” he said.