30 local groups implement local development projects with support from the Environmental Fund for Lebanon

The Environmental Fund for Lebanon outlined yesterday the outcome of its work through highlighting the achievements of 30 organisations which received funding support form the EFL for their development projects in order to implement local environmental projects through the collaboration between local municipalities, NGOs and private sector.  To be noted that the implanted initiatives sought to mitigate the environmental and economic impact of the July 2006 war in Lebanon.  The highlighting of these projects was carried out during a commemoration event held in Ain Mreisseh which celebrated their full implementation, organised under the auspices of the Minister of the Environment, Nazem Khouri, and with the attendance of a number of municipal heads, private organisations and NGO which received financial support from the Fund.
The overall aim of the project, which extended over the past six years, was to provide some 30 local initiatives with financial support amounting to circa 4.8 million Euros. The funded local initiatives were implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and GIZ, and sought to improve environmental performance through investments which carry economic benefits namely to small and medium enterprises and which will result in economic gains for the public and non-governmental sectors.  The project targeted, in its first phase, the protection of fragile ecosystems, sustainable agriculture and rational use of energy.  The second phase focused on water pollution due to industrial waste as well as improving the situation in North Lebanon through projects seeking to increase income and to improve adaptability to climate change.
For his part, the Minister of the Environment, Khouri, noted in his speech that the success of the Environmental Fund for Lebanon can be traced to its three key principles, namely: first transparency in its management and in such a way that it is in line with national priorities and plans, secondly the development of partnership with the public sector as well as between the private and public sectors, and finally the sustainability of activities and financing.
Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Diyar 12 December 2013