The Minister of Energy and Water in the caretaker government, Dr. Walid Fayad, met with a delegation that included the Director General of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL), and Birdlife International Global Councillor, Asaad Sarhal, the head of the Lebanese Environment Forum (LEF), Eng. Malek Ghandour.
During the meeting, the delegates presented the efforts made by SPNL and LEF at the level of implementing development projects, preserving the environment, promoting the concept of Hima, and consolidating its role in maintaining a balance between people’s needs and protecting nature. The delegates presented the consultative track that is being implemented in the context of the project “Blue Green Economy – Hima for Peace, Combating Climate Change and Preserving Biodiversity.”
LEF and SPNL are collaborating with the Ministry of Energy and Water in Lebanon to successfully implement the five-year “Al Murunah” Project, with the objective to increase water security and enhance climate resilience in the MENA region through the implementation of Resilient Nature Based Water Solutions (RNBWS).
RNBWS combine Nature Based Solutions for Water (NBSW) and Agricultural Water Management (AWM). While identifying and demonstrating pragmatic approaches to investing in RNBWS in the region, the initiative will focus on four countries – Jordan, The project, implemented by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), aims to strengthen and catalyze national capacities for the implementation and upscaling of RNBWS. The project will develop action-oriented field demonstrations and recommendations that overcome technical and non-technical barriers to uptake and long-term sustainability of RNBWS.

This event was supported by (C4C) project. In line with the European Green Deal agenda and the Paris Agreement, the Climate for Cities (C4C) project aims to promote the transition towards greener and climate-resilient municipalities in the Southern Neighborhood, in line with countries’ commitments under the Paris Agreement.

C4C Lebanon will lead to (1) Implementing resource efficient and low carbon initiatives in the target municipalities, (2) Promoting green technology and behavioral changes at local level through hands-on awareness campaigns with schools, NGOs, youth, women, and households, (3) Capacity building of relevant stakeholders on green cities and natural resource management, and (4) Ensuring replication through strengthening the national framework for sub-national climate action and dissemination of lessons learned from the project and linking outcomes to Nationally Determined Contributions