What have we achieved so far?

An adaptive forest landscape restoration plan was designed and implemented along an ecological corridor in the heart of the Shouf Biosphere Reserve. More than forty species of native trees and shrubs were planted with different techniques, following protocols developed by international experts together with local stakeholders. Despite the long drought periods of the recent summers, the results have been outstanding, combining an exceptionally high survival rate of the seedlings and seeds with a considerable abatement of forestation costs. This work is now being continued through the project “Environmentally-sound and Socially Beneficial Forestation in the SBR”, with funding from the European Union and the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture (ENPI/ARD).

In Italy, ILEX completed the first adaptive forest management plan in the Sirente-Velino Natural Park, which focuses on the Municipality of Fontecchio and builds on the sectoral studies developed during the previous years. This was the preliminary step to the design of a similar plan for the whole Aterno Valley and, on the longer term, the whole landscape of Sirente Velino - the first of its kind in the Abruzzo region.

In Lebanon, the Kfarfakoud biomass factory was rehabilitated and became fully operational. The plant supplies clean energy to the communities of the Shouf region by producing briquettes made with tree pruning waste-wood from the thinning of coppice oak forests and the collection of agriculture waste - olive pomace and fruit tree pruning. In other words, cleaner and cheaper energy is generated through the land management practices, which in turns reduces the risk of rural fires and improves the health of the forest.

In Italy the Municipality of Fontecchio developed of a plan for a pilot biomass heating system that will supply energy to the primary school of the town, linking up to the forest management plan developed for the forests of the area through MM.

In Italy, thanks to the co-funding of the Abruzzo Regional Authority, the project designed and promoted sustainable tourism packages based on the creation of footpaths, the networking of service providers and tour operators, and the valorization of traditional transhumance routes crossing the Sirente Velino landscape. The region was promoted in sectoral and special events in Italy, the UK, and the US.