A Civil Defense vehicle intervening in the fight against a forest fire. (Credit: NNA)
Caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassine welcomed on Thursday the government's decision to approve, at the request of his ministry, a donation of $3.458 million to fight forest fires in sensitive regions of Lebanon. This donation comes from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), financed through the World Bank.
“This GEF grant will contribute to strengthening fire risk management in Lebanon, particularly in the most fire-prone areas, within the framework of sustainable management of forests and nature reserves, in line with the Ministry of Environment’s strategy to prevent and reduce forest fires,” Yassine said in a statement released on Thursday. He added that “the project complements the technical assistance provided by the World Bank in the field of forest fires, thanks to funding from the Progreen Trust Fund.”
Yassine recalls that the ministry's actions have made it possible to drastically reduce the areas ravaged by fires during the last two years, with a decrease of 91 percent in 2022 and 82 percent in 2023, compared to 2021. He mentions the combined efforts of the Civil Defense, the army, municipalities, forestry centers and nature reserve committees in this action. However, he deplores the numerous fires started in southern Lebanon by Israeli aggressions since October 2023.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.