United Nations Development Programme Project Document Project title: Land degradation neutrality of mountain landscapes in Lebanon Country: Implementing Partner: Management Arrangements: Support to National Implementation Modality LEBANON Ministry of Environment (NIM) UNDAF/Country Programme Outcome: Outcome 3.3. Lebanon has adopted measures to improve environmental governance UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021 Output: Development Setting B: Accelerating structural transformations for Sustainable Development. Signature solution 4: Promote nature-based solutions for a sustainable planet UNDP Social and Environmental Screening UNDP Gender Marker: 2 Category: Moderate Atlas Project ID/Award ID number: 00098955 Atlas Output ID/Project ID number: 00102170 UNDP-GEF PIMS ID number: 5837 GEF ID number: 9388 Planned start date: 01 June 2018 Planned end date: 31 May 2023 LPAC date: Brief project description: The project seeks land degradation neutrality in mountain lands by rehabilitating degraded land and preventing further degradation. It will do this initially at the pilot scale to gain the necessary skills and know- how as well as confidence, before it can be up-scaled and replicated post-project comprehensively. Rehabilitation practices will be tested for technical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and benefits in the agriculture, mountain pastures and forestry sectors, the quarrying sector, and the eco-tourism and outdoor recreation sectors. Prevention will be achieved through comprehensive land use planning and the monitoring for compliance with set conditions and their enforcement. There will be clarification of roles and enhancement of capacities particularly at local government level. The institutional and regulatory context will be reviewed, updated and strengthened so as to prevent new degradation of forests, rangelands and agricultural lands. The project will aim for a robust, comprehensive and appropriate legal framework which will assess biodiversity and key ecosystem goods and services to inform permitting decisions. Finally the project will develop new financing mechanisms for SLM/SFM based on international best practice and a knowledge management platform to facilitate sustainability, replication and up-scaling of the new practices leading to land degradation neutrality. 1 | P a g e FINANCING PLAN GEF Trust Fund USD 4,621,005 UNDP TRAC resources USD 120,000 (1) Total Budget administered by UNDP USD 4,741,005 OTHER CO-FINANCING (all other co-financing that is not cash co-financing administered by UNDP) Government – Ministry of Environment USD 7,500,000 Government – Council for Development and Reconstruction USD 7,000,000 NGO – Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI) USD 2,000,000 (2) Total other co-financing USD 16,500,000 (3) Grand-Total Project Financing (1)+(2) USD 21,241,005 SIGNATURES Signature: print name below Agreed by Government Date/Month/Year: Signature: print name below Agreed by Implementing Date/Month/Year: Partner Signature: print name below Agreed by UNDP Date/Month/Year: 2 | P a g e CONTENTS Acronyms and abbreviations 4 1 Development Challenge 5 1.1 Background 5 1.2 Land degradation problems facing Lebanon 6 1.3 Baseline scenario 8 2 Strategy 11 2.1 Barriers, root causes and theory of change 11 2.2 Land degradation neutrality 13 2.3 LDN project response 15 2.4 Project alignment 16 2.5 Project site selection 17 3 Results and Partnerships 19 3.1 Expected results 19 3.2 Project benefits and beneficiaries 23 3.3 Incremental reasoning 24 3.4 Gender equality and the empowerment of women 24 3.5 Partnerships and stakeholder engagement 25 3.6 South-South and Triangular Cooperation 27 4 Feasibility 27 4.1 Cost efficiency and effectiveness 27 4.2 Risks to project success and mitigation measures 29 4.3 Social and environmental risks and safeguards 30 4.4 Innovation, sustainability and scaling up 31 5 Project Results Framework 33 6 Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan 36 7 Governance and Management Arrangements 40 8 Financial Planning and Management 44 9 Total Budget and Workplan 46 10 Legal Context 49 11 Risk management 49 12` Annexes 51 1 Multi-year Workplan 51 2 Monitoring Plan 52 3 Evaluation Plan 54 4 GEF Tracking Tools at baseline LD-PMAT 55 5a Theory of change showing project response to the Development Challenge and Results/Impacts achieved 56 5b Causal Chain Analysis of the problem of Land Degradation in Lebanon 57 5c Ecosystem Services in the mountain environments of Lebanon 58 6 UNDP Project Quality Assurance 59 7 UNDP Risk Log 66 8 Capacity Development Scorecard - Assessment of LDN Technical Capacity 68 9 Stakeholder Engagement 75 10 Social and Environmental Screening Template 77 11 Endorsement Letter by GEF OFP 84 12 Co-financing Letters 85 13 Draft Letter of Agreement UNDP / Government of Lebanon on Direct Project Services 89 14 Terms of Reference and Procurement Plan 92 15 Gender Analysis and Mainstreaming Plan 99 16 Persons and organisations consulted during project development 106 17 Exploration and assessments of potential project localities 108 18 Analysis of land cover / land use data for study areas of Akkar and Mount-Lebanon 128 19 Communication and Knowledge Management Strategy 149 20 SLM and SFM financing sources and mechanisms 155 3 | P a g e ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AFDC Association for Forests, Development and Conservation CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CDR Council for Development and Reconstruction EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization (of the United Nations) FSP Full Sized Project GEF Global Environment Facility GEFSeC Global Environment Facility Secretariat IA Implementing Agency (of the GEF) IBA Important Bird Area IEO Independent Evaluation Office (of UNDP and of GEF) LDN Land Degradation Neutrality LD-PMAT Land Degradation – Portfolio Monitoring and Tracking Tool LMT Lebanon Mountain Trail LRI Lebanon Reforestation Initiative LUP Land Use Planning M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MoA Ministry of Agriculture MoE Ministry of Environment NAP National Action Plan (of the UNCCD) NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan NGO Non-Governmental Organization NIM National Implementation Modality NFP National Focal Point (for the GEF) NPMPLT National Physical Master Plan for the Lebanese Territory OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OMSWA Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs PIF Project Identification Form PIR Project Implementation Report PMU Project Management Unit POPP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (of UNDP) PPG Project Preparation Grant (of GEF) STAP Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (of GEF) RAPTA Resilience, Adaptation Pathways Transformation Assessment (Framework) RTA Regional Technical Advisor (of UNDP) SDG Sustainable Development Goal SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SLM Sustainable Land Management SPNL Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon TRAC Target from Resource Assignment from the Core (Funding) UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees USAID United States Agency for International Development USD United States Dollar 4 | P a g e 1 DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE 1.1 Background 1. Lebanon has a total land area of 10,452 km2, and lies entirely within the Mediterranean Basin Ecoregion. It is situated east of the Mediterranean Sea, has a coastline of 210 km and stretches 50 km inland. Inland from the coast is the Mount Lebanon mountain range which stretches some 240 km, is characterized by high precipitation and has an average altitude of around 2000 m1 with the highest peak, Qurnat al-Sawda rising to just over 3000 m. 2. Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary Karstic limestone, Cretaceous and Quaternary sandstone, and Conglomerate make up most of Lebanon’s geology. Carbonated rock formations make up most of the two main mountain ranges. Soils in Lebanon are young and shallow and have a poor consistency, especially on sloping terrains. The most common soil types in Lebanon are the calcareous Terra-Rossa and Rendzinas, which are in the agricultural plains of the country. Other soil types include sandstone, basalts and similar older volcanic materials. Precipitation averages 840 mm/year – varying from 200 mm/year in the northern inland region to more than 1,500 mm/year on the peaks of Mount Lebanon. 3. Land use activities in the Mount Lebanon range include irrigated and non-irrigated arboriculture (olive trees, apple, almonds) and vineyards. Extensive grasslands allow for the development of livestock, particularly goats. Forests in Lebanon cover 139,376 ha while Other Wooded Lands (OWLs) cover 108,378 ha, 13% and 10% of the surface area of the country, respectively2. The highest concentrations of forests in the country are found in Mount Lebanon (37%) and North Lebanon (30%), such that oak forests occupy the largest surface areas, estimated at 52%3. Figure 1: Governorates and Districts of Lebanon 4. Lebanon makes up only 0.007% of the world land surface area but it is home to 1.11% of world plant species and 2.63% of reptile, bird and mammal species. Lebanon’s floral diversity is one of the highest in the Mediterranean, a region which is considered to be among the most biologically diverse in the world. About 12% of plant species in Lebanon are endemic. Lebanon is also home to nine nature reserves, three biosphere 1 Yighni, Y. et al (2013). Soil Resources of Mediterranean and Caucasus Countries 2 Ibid. 3 UNDP / MOE (2011), State and Trends of the Lebanese Environment 5 | P a g e reserves, one UNESCO World Heritage Site and 15 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) recognized by Birdlife International4. The Lebanon NBSAP5 provides a comprehensive and detailed overview of protected areas in Lebanon. At the species level, 9,119 species have been documented - 4,633 flora and 4,486 fauna. Of these species, 96 are considered rare or threatened. Eleven tree species are on the IUCN red list at low risk levels while Arbutus, Ceratonia, Pistacia, Pinus, Quercus and Laurus are among the surviving remnants of ancient forests6.