The Lebanese-German Environmental Forum is organized by the Environmental Fund for Lebanon (EFL).

A programme funded by the German Government, implemented by the German International Cooperation (GIZ) in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and the Council for Development and Reconstruction.

EFL's total budget is €8.5 million.

EFL was launched in July 2007 with the aim of "Reducing environmental risks and economic impacts of the 2006 war in Lebanon and of underserved areas in Lebanon".

Since its launching, the EFL has conducted 2 calls for proposals and funded around 30 innovative local initiatives with clear environmental and economic benefits.

EFL has also provided training and other capacity development needs related to the funded activities in view of reaching a multiplying effect.

As EFL is working on finalizing its first round of projects and progressing in the implementation of its second round of projects, this public event will allow to:

1. Present EFL’s achievements and lessons learnt to date

2. Promote key national environmental initiatives, with a special focus on protected areas and abatement of industrial pollution

3. Promote cooperation in the environmental field between the public and the private sector in Lebanon and between Lebanese and German institutions.

At 11am:

The Press Conference

The event will be initiated with a press conference, with the following program:

• 11:00 - 11:30  :  Inauguration of the event by MoE, CDR and German Embassy

• 11:30 - 12:00  :  Technical presentation on the work of EFL (covering both calls for proposals)

• 12:00 - 12:30  :  Discussion with the press

• 12:30  :  Opening of Exhibition

1pm till 5pm:

The Exhibition of EFL partners from Lebanon and Germany

The exhibition will focus on two main themes and will promote them in an interactive way to raise awareness of the public and cooperation among the concerned institutions. The exhibition themes are the following:

• Adaptation to climate change in natural ecosystems, protected areas, and agricultural sector.
• Pollution abatement and cleaner production in the industrial sector.

Exhibitors from Lebanon and from Germany will display communication material and other products related to the activities of their institutions related to the exhibition themes.

A 10-minutes documentary on EFL's first round of projects will be displayed in the exhibition area; in addition, a 15-minutes slides presentation on EFL's second round of projects will be projected.

The distribution of EFL’s publication on “Lessons learned in local environmental action in Lebanon”

This publication will be released on the occasion of this event.

The objective of this publication is to highlight the experience and lessons learned from the local interventions in environmental management in Lebanon. The publication is based on the first and second round of projects funded by EFL.

At 2 pm:

Panel discussion on Industrial Compliance:

In collaboration with the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, technical
presentations will be made for the private sector:

Legal Framework for Industrial Compliance
Environmental Audits for Industries
ISO 14000 in Lebanon

The top 10 photo-reportages will be projected and 4 winners will be announced under these two themes:

Nature Conservation :
2 Prizes x 1.5 million LBP

Industrial Pollution :
2 Prizes x 1.5 million LBP

In order to promote the involvement of the younger public in this event, a Photo-Documentary contest has been launched focusing on the two themes above.

A communication campaign to promote this contest has been launched through a poster distributed in main academic institutions and through the EFL website. The campaign will ensure interaction with the young public through the following main message:

“At EFL, we believe that solving a problem starts with finding its cause. That’s why we need you to find and document environmental challenges so we can solve them together. Help us make a difference today before time runs out.”

Each contestant has to submit 5 to 10 photos related to one of the themes of the competition with a short caption for each photo. Submissions will be done online and will allow the public to view all the photo-reportages.

The contest will offer 4 prizes; each prize is equivalent to 1.5 million LBP ($1,000). A jury formed of photography and environmental professionals will choose one winner under each theme, the public vote will award another prize under each theme.