Short description of the best practice

Lebanon lies within an important centre of flowering plant biodiversity, with approximately 2,600 species and an endemism rate of 12%. Around 365 medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are found and utilised in Lebanon. The MAP and herb domestic markets are worth approximately US$35 millions per year and wild stocks supply
approximately 98% of the MAP markets. The collection of wild stocks now threatens the conservation of globally significant MAP biodiversity. The project idea is that non-destructive harvests, together with income generated by MAP business opportunities for local people, will maintain the wild stocks of at least 6 globally significant MAP species that are commercially traded and threatened by current harvesting practices.
The project will create incentives for local communities to sustainably manage the wild stocks by ensuring the increased financial returns flow to the guardians of wild MAP stocks and are directly linked to sustainable harvest and management practices. The project will introduce a sustainable management regime for 800 tons annually of the target species. For this purpose, the project will support both the establishment of 7-10 community-based MAP-MSEs, and value-added production systems. At the end of the project, over 8 value-added products made from sustainably harvested MAPs will be available, using at least 300 tons of raw materials.
Outputs:
- Appropriate collection methods ensure a viable long-term
supply of raw materials of globally significant MAP species.
- Value-added processing and product improvement result in increased value of globally significant MAPs harvested in biodiversity-friendly manner.
- Supply chain framework strengthened for sustainable harvest of globally significant MAP species and awareness promoted for conservation-friendly MAP products.
Expected Results:
- Establishment of community-based pre-processing Small Enterprises (SE) for MAPs.
- Development and implementation of a certification system for sustainable wild harvesting.
- Development and implementation of sustainable wild harvesting standards that incorporate ecological, social and economic aspects.
- Training for local collectors on sustainable harvesting techniques of MAPs.
- Regulative framework put in place for MAP collection, processing and trade.
- Consumer awareness enhanced on the importance of certified MAP products.
- Increased awareness at the national level on the importance of MAP conservation and sustainable use.

Location

100 villages and communities in Lebanon

Estimated population living in the location:

7000.0

Brief description of the natural environment within the specified location.

Mainly mountains and hills
Medicinal and aromatic plants are very abundant in forests, woodlands and shrublands, extending from lower altitudes ton high mountains, in the different bioclimates of Lebanon. |
Mostly red mediterranean soil

Prevailing socio-economic conditions of those living in the location and/or nearby

Agriculture and various rural jobs. Teaching in local schools. Taxi drivers. Army/internal security. Small shops. Money tansfer from family members living abroad or in cities.
Low to middle income communities, mainly rural based. Available access to basic health, sanitation and education. Several villages were affected by the successive war events, some communities have migrated, and are returning to the villages. Youth are migrating to cities or abroad, looking for better living conditions. Women are mainly home based, participating in the agricultural activities. Some are involved in local agricultural and production cooperatives or teaching in local schools. |
Land may be privately owned. Community owned lands(usually religious communities) and public lands (municipal or governmental) may be rented to various uses.

On the basis of which criteria and/or indicator(s) (not related to The Strategy) the proposed practice and corresponding technology has been considered as 'best'?

The collection of MAPs may be very aggressive and destructive to the ecosystems and may lead to land degradation and loss of biodiveristy. The proposed practice/project aims at the conservation of the MAPs in Lebanon, while providing local communities with a good source of income from sustainably managed collection sites. |

Main problems addressed by the best practice

Depletion of forests and woodlands from excessive and unsustainable collection of MAPs.
Low income of local communities despite their diversified activities.
Increase in forest fires onsets, mainly because of the increase in forest biomass and unsustainable forest practices.|

Outline specific land degradation problems addressed by the best practice

Unsustainable and uncontrolled collection of MAPs is leading to the degradation of soil and vegetation cover.
Unsustainable management of forests and rangelands will lead to an increase in forest fires and soil erosion.

Specify the objectives of the best practice

1- Appropriate collection methods ensure a viable long-term supply of MAP raw materials.
2- Value-added processing and product improvement result in increased value of globally
significant MAPs harvested in biodiversity-friendly manner
3- Supply chain framework strengthened for sustainable harvest of globally significant MAP
species and awareness promoted for conservation-friendly MAP products
4- Learning, evaluation and adaptive management achieved|

Brief description of main activities, by objective

2.1 Manufacturing and trading companies upgraded.
2.2 Locally processed MAP products branded.
2.3 Innovative MAP based products developed and introduced into the market.
1.1 Community-based MSEs for MAP collecting and primary processing established.
1.2 Collectors trained in MAP identification and sustainable harvesting methods.
1.3 Certification system for sustainable harvest applied.
1.4 Community-based resource use plans set up.
3.1 National MAP Association established as private-sector entity.
3.2 Guidelines on sustainable harvesting practices agreed, training modules developed and widely applied.
3.3 Certification system developed, agreed and put into practice.
3.4 Regulative framework on collection, processing as well as|
4.1 Monitoring programme established;
4.2 Adaptive management and strategic planning system established;
4.3 Lessons learned and impact data are gathered, documented and disseminated to key internal and external audiences.|

Short description and technical specifications of the technology

Transforming the MAP industry as a means of maintaining the conservation status of globally significant MAP species is a new and bold approach. It has not been tried in the Arab region before and it faces a number of barriers and risks. There are doubts whether value-added MAP products can create sufficient economic incentives to induce the desired behavioural change within the industry and establish the selfenforcement mechanisms necessary to “crowd out” non-complying industry participants. Income derived from MAPs will not be large and revenues generated will be seasonal supplements to household income. Nevertheless, business feasibility and economic comparative studies, as well as stakeholder surveys, indicate it can be possible. Certainly in comparison to alternatives conservation strategies, the approach promises to be the most cost-effective, self-sustaining and the most likely to achieve the desired long-term behavioural changes.

Name and address of the institution developing the technology

Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute - LARI|LARI - Fanar - Lebanon

Was the technology developed in partnership?

Nee

Specify the framework within which the technology was promoted

• National initiative – government-led
• Programme/project-based initiative

Was the participation of local stakeholders, including CSOs, fostered in the development of the technology?

Ja

List local stakeholders involved:

All local communities living in the regions where the project is implemented and benefiting of the use, harvest and transformation of MAPs|

For the stakeholders listed above, specify their role in the design, introduction, use and maintenance of the technology, if any.

The local communities are in charge of the forests and woodlands where the collection of MAPs is taking place. They will have to manage and maintain the sites for the sustainability of the initiative. The species where selected on the basis of traditional uses and traditional (sometimes not sustainable) harvesting and transformation techniques.

Was the population living in the location and/or nearby involved in the development of the technology?

Ja

By means of what?

• Participatory approaches

Describe on-site impacts (the major two impacts by category)

Increased income to local communities generated by the transformation and branded marketing of the products
Conservation of the biological dievrsity through the sustainable exploitation and management of the selected species
Improved management of the sites and hence decrease in the risk of forest fires

Describe the major two off-site (i.e. not occurring in the location but in the surrounding areas) impacts

Replicability of the activities in surrounding villages

Impact on biodiversity and climate change

Explain the reasons:

The sustainable harvesting of the MAPs promotes the conservation of the species. The econommic benefits that are expected through the sustainable management and branded marketing of the products will encourage the local communites to protect the species and the ecosystems they grow in.
The sustainable management of the forests and terrestrial ecosystems contributes to the climate change mitigation
The species selected grow in a wide range of climatic conditions and are usually tolerent to occasional droughts and changes in temperature

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

Ja

Specify:

Mainstreaming MAP conservation considerations into the private sector represents a far more cost effective approach than the classical approach, which involves the establishment of protected areas in which MAP harvest is prohibited. By mainstreaming conservation, the recurrent costs will be virtually eliminated,
with conservation supported by self-financing incentive systems that generate financial benefits for MAP collectors and processors who conserve. Driven by market incentives created by this project, MAP-MSEs will undertake investments into their own business to expand and to become eligible for certification. For the MAP industry as a whole, the voluntary, participatory approach of the project is cost-effective when compared to involuntary regulatory and enforcement measures, reducing the need, and therefore the costs, of interventions.|

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Nee

Can you identify the three main conditions that led to the success of the presented best practice/technology?

The project will help develop win-win opportunities resulting in both, livelihood and biodiversity
gains, as well as getting stakeholders to accept trade-offs and internalize costs related to biodiversity in their
production activities. It will help establish a new generation of entrepreneurs who will have a continuing
stake in the sustainable use of MAPs. |
The business model pursued by the project combines income generation with global conservation
benefits, and may thus serve as a model for similar economics in the Middle East and elsewhere. Results
from the project will be disseminated within and beyond the project intervention zone through a number of
existing information sharing networks and fora.|
The project will test an innovative approach towards dealing with the threats to globally significant MAPs
arising from human consumption, by mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into day-to-day business
operations. This project will work in Lebanon on national scale, and aims at exerting influence on the MAP
industry as a whole.|

Replicability

In your opinion, the best practice/technology you have proposed can be replicated, although with some level of adaptation, elsewhere?

Ja

At which level?

• Local
• Sub-national
• National
• Subregional
• Regional
• International

Related to human resources

The project is still ongoing and no lessons can be drawn yet

Related to financial aspects

The project is still ongoing and no lessons can be drawn yet

Related to technical aspects

The project is still ongoing and no lessons can be drawn yet