Improving National Assessment and Monitoring Capacities for Integrated Environmental and Coastal Ecosystem Management.
Project Coordinator:
- National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) - Lebanon
Project Partners:
- Centro Internazionale Di Alti Studi Agronomici Mediterranei – Instituto Agronomico Mediterraneo Di Bari (CIHEAM IAMB) - Italy
- Institut de Recherche Pour Le Développement (IRD) - France
A Support Action financed by the International Cooperation (INCO) – Capacities Program of the 7th Framework Program of the European Union
Natural resources in Lebanon and in other countries of the Mediterranean basin have been continuously subject to increasing pressures since the Phoenician and Roman times. The abundance of bare rocks and deteriorated lands with shallow soils points to processes of severe erosion and land degradation. Several natural and human-induced factors contributed to that degradation both in the interior as well as in Mediterranean coastal areas.
The recently launched INCAM project contributes to increase Lebanon’s capacity in important environmental concerns based on a regional approach that assess the anthropological impacts on natural resources towards achieving its objective of improving assessment and monitoring capacities in environmental protection and coastal zone management in Lebanon by strengthening and enforcing the role of the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) through capacity/institutional building and training and education of its staff.
INCAM starts with data collection at a national scale through a thorough investigation of existing information on present status of natural resources. This background information will create a national natural resources database comprising several information layers and sources including coastal and marine ecosystems, soil and water resources, biodiversity, and waste management, in addition to socio economic and legislative analyses.
Based on the findings, the project will work on defining gaps and needs, towards setting the priorities and strengthening the existing environmental assessment and monitoring capacities at the institutional and national level. The Project also pays particular attention to EU-ENP countries collaboration, regional cooperation, as well as enhancing Lebanon’s FP7 participation capacities. These tasks will be thoroughly addressed through dissemination and demonstration of project results in both a local and a larger regional domain.
In achieving the above, the overall work plan is divided into one project coordination and management work package (WP) and six scientific and technical work packages, as follows:
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WP1: Project Coordination and Management
- WP2: Environmental and Coastal Ecosystem Status and Assessment
- WP3: Gaps and Needs to Strengthen National Environmental Capacities and Monitoring Systems
- WP4: Action Plan and Roadmap For CNRS Institutional and Capacity Building
- WP5: Enhancing EU-Regional Networking, Training and Cooperation
- WP6: Increase FP7 Participation Capacities through Building Relevant Partnerships
- WP7: Dissemination, Demonstration and Regional Cooperation
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