Replanting Lebanon's Forests After Decades of Loss

Launched in 2010 by the US Forest Service with USAID funding, the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative works with government agencies, municipalities, and local NGOs to restore native forests lost to urbanization, wildfire, and decades of deforestation. LRI develops seed-to-field protocols, trains nursery operators, and coordinates volunteer planting at more than 100 sites nationwide, favoring species like oak and pine that can later support rural income from timber, charcoal, and pine nuts. Since 2011, LRI and its partner organizations have planted more than 2.5 million tree seedlings across upwards of 1,350 hectares of degraded land.