Project in Menjez

Despite our situation in the border region in the far north of Lebanon, the daily problems, challenges and anxieties of the inhabitants with the economic and political crisis and the significant and crushing impact of the Syrian crisis at all levels and in all areas, the municipality of Menjez has multiplied its efforts in the field of local and urban sustainable development since 2012, such as:

• The Municipality of Menjez has signed the covenant of mayors for climate and energy like 9209 municipalities in the world, and with funding from the European Commission the municipality of Menjez has made a SEAP (Sustainable Energy Action Plan) with the help of the municipality of Naples Italy. The Menjez SEAP is the first one that was accepted among those of Lebanese cities by the deliberative council of the covenant of mayors on 14-04-2016.

http://www.covenantofmayors.eu/about/covenant-community/signatories/baseline-review.html?scity_id=8422

• The US Agency for International Development has financed in collaboration with the René Mouawad Foundation the installation in 2018 of a 100 Kw solar power plant to replace municipal electric generators. http://baladi-lebanon.org/projects/2nd-round/ http://baladi-lebanon.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/BALADI-Round2-RMF-CARITAS.pdf

• The European Commission has financed a forestry action project as well as the development of an action and management plan for the Black Forest in Menjez, reforestation of 200,000 square meters and the creation of two units for the extraction of essential oil from bay leaves and the extraction of oil of the fruit of laurels in collaboration with the university Balamand. http://ardac.balamand.edu.lb http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/lebanon/press_corner/all_news/news/2014/20140709_5_en.htm

• The Lebanese Ministry of Energy and UNDP separately financed the installation of 37 full solar powered public lighting units, and all the traditional energy-consuming lamps of public lighting were replaced by LED lamps.

• The US Agency for International Development USAID has financed for Menjez a “Rural Tourism Strategy and Action Plan”.

• The Nature Conservation Center at the American University in Beirut realized the tourist map of Menjez. http://www.aub.edu.lb/units/natureconservation/programs/Pages/townsandmaps.aspx

• Menjez is labeled by the most beautiful villages of Lebanon with 3 other villages of Akkar. http://www.pbvliban.org/en/village/menjez/

• The Lebanese Ministry of Tourism has placed Menjez in the textbook of rural tourism villages.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kyji_aoDyFZgTBHTmFcgLwyOFUWYtm8I/view?usp=drive_web

• Menjez is in the cultural route of the Council of Europe, the Phoenicians route. https://lcf.lau.edu.lb/images/phoenician-route-brochure-lebanon.pdf

• Like the 2040 municipalities in the world, the municipality of Menjez has signed (Bristol UK) the World Fair Trade Charter through Fair Trade Towns in Lebanon (EU Project AKFAR II) and has been declared the first Fair trade town in Lebanon and the Middle East. http://www.fairtradetowns.org/

• In collaboration with the Green Plan and financing by IFAD the municipality of Menjez begin the installation of a hill lake will serve as collector of 50 thousand cubic meters of rainwater to irrigate the agricultural fields and to diversify tourism offer. http://www.agriculture.gov.lb/Arabic/NewsEvents/Documents/ARDP%20Newsletter.pdf

• The Embassy of Japan in Lebanon has funded the modernization of the Menjez drinking water sector by replacing all the metal piping that supplies the village with pipes approved for drinking water.

http://www.lb.emb-japan.go.jp/Previous_Projects.html#2014

• The UNDP and the German Federal Embassy and the European Commission have financed separately the modernization of part of the irrigation systems of agricultural fields (Menjez water-wise village) http://www.eurasia.undp. org / content / dam / RBEC / docs / NewWorld.pdf

• The municipality of Menjez began the development and implementation of a Menjez Fire Wise Action Plan in collaboration with the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, the MADA association, the US Forestry Department and funded by USAID. http://lri-lb.org/about.php#about

• In 2017 the region of Menjez has declared Important Plant Area by IUCN is in the list of the Mediterranean basin biodiversity hotspot of the critical ecosystem partnership fund (CEPF) http://www.cepf.net

Click to access 2011-014-fr.pdf

• The Laboratory of prehistoric archaeology and anthropology of the University of Geneva in partnership with the municipality of Menjez, the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory of the Université Saint-Joseph, the Chateau-Musée de Préhistoire Bélesta France, the Lebanese Directorate of General Antiquities have received funding for a Scientific assistance for the valorization of Menjez megalithic sites and the preservation and optimisation of tourism of the megalithic dolmens of Menjez. https://www.britishcouncil.org/valorisation-mengez-megalithic-sites

• The Norwegian Embassy in Beirut, in collaboration with the NGO MADA, approved the financing of a two units to transform agricultural waste and especially forest waste into briquettes for heating and compost for agriculture.