Agriculture & Environment Program

The project entitled “Environmental Watchdogs for Environmental Protection” is developed to assist the Ministry of Environment (MoE) in monitoring the protected areas and natural sites in Lebanon, in addition to controlling point source pollution through inspection visits to licensed quarries, industries, healthcare facilities and other developmental projects. The YMCA, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment (MoE), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), through the “Institutional Strengthening of the Ministry of Environment” project, is implementing the project. 

The “Institutional Strengthening to the Ministry of Environment” (IS MoE) project aims to strengthen the capacity of the MoE in planning and programming for sustainable development, and environmental capacity development.  A major challenge facing sustainable development in Lebanon is the weak environmental inspection and enforcement structure. The Environmental Watchdog program was initiated to help tackle these challenges.  Each year the program has evolved to focus on protecting different sectors of the environment according to the needs of the Ministry:

March 2013 - Dec 2013: “Environmental Watchdogs for Protecting Ecosystems” was protecting areas & natural sites in Lebanon, and auditing hunting exams

January 2014 – March 2015: Envolved to controlling point sources pollution through inspection visits to quarries & crushers, industries, healthcare facilities, & newly proposed development projects in addition to its previous responsibilities.

April 2015 - Present: Through the “Environmental Watchdogs for Environmental Protection” the YMCA has become more involved in assisting the MoE in protecting ecosystems & controlling pollution through regular visits to nature reserves, natural sites, hunting clubs, hospitals, and quarries

Today, YMCA Lebanon is working hand in hand with the Ministry of Environment to address on-demand environmental complaints, including wastewater flooding, solid waste dumps, CDW dumps, generators, tree cutting, air pollution, farms, and cattle being raised among houses.