Daily Star staff
Saturday, April 02, 2011
ZGHORTA: A workshop on Policies and Legislation on Forest Management was launched Friday as part of a project to conserve and protect forest resources in the north, in the run-up to what people hope will be a summer free of catastrophic fires.
The two-day workshop at the Ehden Country Club is being organized by the Young Men’s Christian Association and sponsored by caretaker Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan.
The opening ceremony was attended by Hajj Hassan, the Spanish Ambassador Juan Carlos Gafo, the head of the Union of Municipalities of Zghorta Antoine Sleiman and local officials.
Hajj Hassan appraised the status of forest management in the country, saying the ministry was working on improving legislation on forested areas and fire management.
“Fifty years ago, forests covered 35 percent of Lebanon’s area, and the forests back then were not fragmented as they are now. Today, forests only cover 13 percent of the country,” the minister said.
The workshop is part of a pilot project being implemented by YMCA and the Spanish organization Forest Technology Center of Catalonia and funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development with a budget of 350,000 euros.
The project, which has two phases, aims to improve the quality of life of the rural population in northern Lebanon, especially the Zghorta region, covering seven municipalities and 30,000 inhabitants, through conservation and management of forest resources in the area. – The Daily Star
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