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Nine representatives of Lebanese institutions and administrations related to the management of water and energy resources, agriculture/food security and environmental protection participated in a meeting and field trip to Nexus-related projects in the Shouf region, aiming to address trade-offs across different sectors and generate socioeconomic and environmental advantages. The field trip was organised by GWP-Med in its efforts to promote constructive dialogue, mutual learning, collaboration with similar projects implemented in the country, aiming to encourage the replication of best practices that contribute to the enhancement of Lebanon’s natural resources security.

During the event participants visited the following projects:

• The EU and Swedish Postcode Foundation funded SWat project: Saving Water, Growing Crops: remote-controlled irrigation system to address water scarcity and promote preservation of available freshwater resources.
• The USAID funded Water, Sanitation and Conservation (WSC) project: Wastewater treatment sludge management in the Barouk river Watershed and its Tributaries.mThe Sweden funded MINARET I project: The MENA Region Initiative As a model of Nexus Approach and Renewable Energy Technologies.

Eng. Mona Fakih, Director of Water at the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water who participated in the event in her statement commented “Today, was very fruitful; we have seen the Nexus on the ground because usually we talk about the Nexus in theory so here we saw it. It can be a starting point to elaborate and integrate it in our strategies and move from small to bigger projects.”

All participants are actively engaged in the recently established WEFE Inter-Ministerial Group, led by the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water and facilitated by GWP-Med, which aspires to facilitate collective engagement of relevant institutions to prioritize common solutions towards the country’s sustainable development.

The full story is available here: https://www.gwp.org/en/GWP-Mediterranean/WE-ACT/News-List-Page/2024/lebanese-field-trip/

Under the GEF UNEP MedProgramme, GWP-Med has been implementing activities in Lebanon since 2022 to assess the opportunities offered by the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus approach in enhancing the country’s natural resources security.