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Lebanon’s endangered cedars get a new chance to grow with environmental initiative

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January 30, 2017

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Al Bawaba

The legendary cedar of Lebanon is the oldest recorded tree in human history, having been first mentioned some 4,500 years ago. The Egyptian pharaohs and other ancient Mediterranean civilizations used the wood to build their palaces, temples and ships. Centuries later, the cedars of Lebanon are in trouble, with only a few isolated groves left, due to deforestation and illegal logging. But that is changing. In the last six years, more than 600,000 trees — cedars as well as other native species — have been planted throughout the country as part of the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI). The goal of the initiative, launched in 2010 with help from USAID, the US Forest Service, the Lebanese government and local business sponsors, is to expand existing wilderness reserves and increase forest cover by 50 percent by the year 2020.

“Getting trees to grow in these severely degraded lands is a major challenge,” says Darin Stringer, an Oregon forester and head of the consultancy Pacific Stewardship, who was brought in by the Forest Service as an adviser to the LRI. But the Lebanese are “passionate in their desire to reclaim their forests,” Stringer says. The initiative has helped introduce sustainable forestry practices and wildfire management to Lebanon, in combination with traditional methods.

Lebanon – a new frontier for hydrocarbons

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January 30, 2017

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Uncategorised

By Niazi Kabalan, Pinsent Masons - Financial Times

After a three year hiatus, Lebanon has approved two crucial decrees required to relaunch the country’s first offshore energy licensing round. The Lebanese authorities are preparing a road map to resume a stalled plan to allow global oil companies to explore for hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean country. The hotly anticipated licence round signals a new era for Lebanese oil and gas which has been thwarted by delays after a political stalemate put the brakes on a planned launch in 2013, despite the licensing round having attracted super majors and oil companies from around the globe.

While news of the refreshed tender process is turning the heads of the global oil industry, the mood music is one of cautious optimism as companies demand the promise of a stable and fiscally attractive petroleum regime before signing on the dotted line. Indeed, oil price fluctuations mean investment decisions are not made lightly; with new licensing rounds planned elsewhere in the region, such as in Cyprus, Oman, Iran and Iraq, Lebanon must act fast to compete for investment.

With offshore oil reserves estimated to be anywhere between 440m and 675m barrels, and possibly as much as 96tn cubic feet (tcf) of offshore natural gas reserves, potentially worth a combined $300bn-$600bn, Lebanon has a lot to offer global oil companies. Rival countries across the eastern Mediterranean have proved that this region offers lucrative oil and gas reserves making its complex and costly deep water geology well worth the investment.

Last year Italian oil major Eni announced record-breaking production rates at its Nooros field off the coast of Egypt just 13 months after its discovery. Together with the discovery of Eni’s “super-giant” Zohr field in Egypt, and Total’s announcement of nearby drilling off the coast of Cyprus, interest has been renewed in the eastern Mediterranean basin. This undoubtedly has reinvigorated Lebanon’s hopes of becoming an oil and gas producer.

But while Lebanon generally offers a favourable environment for foreign investors with appealing low corporation tax and investor-friendly business regulations, the regulatory landscape is not quite ready to open its doors to global oil players.

Blind Lebanese host breaks world record for longest live TV broadcast

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January 30, 2017

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Uncategorised

By Al Arabiya Lebanese media personality Dalia Freyfer has endeavored to set a Guinness world record by presenting the longest live television …

Can Canada help a besieged town in Lebanon resist Daesh?

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January 29, 2017

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Uncategorised

By Corbett Hancey from thestar.com

ARSAL, LEBANON—A frigid wind rips across the mountaintop as Col. Ahmed Assir, a commander in the Lebanese Army’s Ninth Infantry Brigade, peers into the valley below. The restive town of Arsal lies at the bottom, inside an army cordon set up two years ago after a brief Daesh takeover. I ask him where the Daesh fighters are now. He points to the snow-capped mountains on the other side of the town that form Lebanon’s border with Syria. It’s a few kilometres away. “It’s empty,” he replies. “They can have it. Like dogs.” He’s talking tough, but he’s also begrudgingly acknowledging the jihadists control Lebanese territory. I’m travelling with the Ninth Brigade around Arsal, on Lebanon’s mountainous northeastern border with Syria. In August 2014, fighters from Daesh — also known as ISIS and ISIL — and the formerly al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fateh al-Sham stormed out of the mountains and overran the town, winning a stunning victory.

But it was short-lived. During five days of fierce fighting, the army wrested back control. In the end, 17 soldiers, dozens of militants and at least 42 civilians were dead. The defeated fighters were pushed out, but they didn’t go far. Thousands of them dug into the outskirts of town, taking refuge in the caves and natural defences of the mountains between here and the Syrian border. The battle came with another cost: the jihadists kidnapped 29 Lebanese police officers and soldiers on their way out. Four have since been executed; several are still being held. Last February, then-foreign affairs minister Stéphane Dion announced a Canadian mission to stabilize Lebanon. He warned it was at a “tipping point” and needed Canadian help to avoid collapse as it struggles with the pressures of the Syrian civil war next door. It is part of Canada’s revamped mission to counter Daesh, put in motion after Canada pulled out of airstrikes against the group when Justin Trudeau came to power.

So far Lebanon has weathered the storm, but containing Syria’s chaos is an ongoing struggle. There have been bombings, arrests of jihadist leaders and foiled terror plots, all linked to Daesh. As state infrastructure buckles under the enormous strain of the refugee influx, Lebanon’s warm welcome is cooling. One in four people in Lebanon are now Syrian refugees. Foreign aid has poured in to ease the burden. But against the towering needs of Syria’s displaced, the response falls short. In an interview, UNICEF’s chief of field operations for Lebanon said that as of November — almost year’s end — just 50 to 60 per cent of the group’s annual appeal had been funded.

Canada’s contribution is a $1.6-billion development and security package (spread over three years) for Lebanon and Jordan — another Mideast ally deemed at risk of collapse. Signs of the crisis are on full display in Arsal. Originally home to some 30,000 people, it now hosts an additional 60,000 to 90,000 Syrian refugees. Looking down from the army position in the mountains, clusters of white refugee tents dominate the town. One of Canada’s principal aims in Lebanon is to promote “social cohesion” between Syrian refugees and their Lebanese hosts. But with refugees vastly outnumbering locals in Arsal, and a widely held belief that refugees are sheltering jihadi fighters, the relationship has coarsened. Last summer the municipality imposed a curfew requiring refugees to stay inside between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.