Search Partnership for Social, Ecological and Agricultural Resilience of Mediterranean Watershed Ecosystems in the Face of Climate Change and Other Drivers of Change

Duration: 2011 – 2014

Beneficiaries: Local communities and authorities of the Upper Akkar watershed

Donor: European Union

Location: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon (Upper Akkar), Palestine and Morocco

Objectives:

This project aims to increase social and ecological resilience of watershed ecosystems of the Mediterranean Region in the face of climate change and other drivers of ecological transformation.

This will be accomplished by developing and piloting a Resilience Framework for local action planning capacities and methodologies to increase climate resilience through joint learning, planning and testing by stakeholders in demonstration sites.

Mada is specifically in charge of the initiative in Lebanon.

Activities:

– Social and environmental mapping of the study area (Upper Akkar watershed),
– Participatory planning for an increased climate resilience,
– Social and ecological vulnerability assessment of the Upper Akkar watershed in face of climate change and other drivers of change using the tools and skills provided in the SEARCH project
– Development of a detailed case study on ecosystem-based adaptation options and local community resilience-building initiatives in the study using the tools and skills provided in the SEARCH project
– Resilience strategy development
– Implementation of pilot projects in selected villages
– Elaboration of a policy reform paper
– Development of a toolkit for using a resilience framework to integrate climate change in the development and adaptation of local and national strategies and activities strategies implemented across multiple sectors
– Drafting of a “Green Paper” with recommendations and guidance on policies and strategies across sectors to promote climate resilience and local action planning.