The Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot, Lebanon being one of its major components, is the second largest hotspot in the world and the largest of the world’s five Mediterranean-climate regions. Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund’s (CEPF) niche is to work with all actors engaged in conservation and development activities in Mediterranean Basin countries to foster partnerships in priority corridors and ...

Lebanon Climate Act initiative organized today a training session for private companies at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, as part of a series of sessions aiming to deepen the knowledge about the mechanisms to tackle climate change, and to identify the ways in which the private sector companies can contribute to these mechanisms through the ...

Global Phase Out of Lead-Containing Paints by 2020 Supported by International Chemical Safety Group More than 80 organizations from all regions of the world are engaging this week in lead paint elimination activities as a part of International Lead Poisoning Week of Action, co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The activities follow and cele ...

Scientists have long known that mercury is a potent toxicant: It disrupts the architecture of human brains, and it can change birds’ behavior and kill their chicks. But after extensive research in Virginia, scientists have shown that mercury also alters the very thing that many birds are known for – their songs. Emitted by the burning of coal, mercury in the atmosphere has quadrupled since the days before i ...

Lebanon’s rivers are alarmingly polluted with untreated sewage and waste, posing health risks for consumers who use the water at home and for farmers who irrigate their crops with it, local scientists warned.   The latest findings, which confirm the results of a slew of research on river pollution over the past decade, come ahead of the government’s unveiling of a road map next week to fight the contam ...

Lights in homes, buildings and famous landmarks will be turned off for an hour on Saturday to mark WWF's annual event Millions of people around the world are expected to switch off lights in homes, offices and famous landmarks at 8.30pm local time for an hour on Saturday to mark WWF's annual Earth Hour. Now in its eighth year, the mass participation event to show support for environmental issues comes as th ...

About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. But while water seems abundant, just 1% of world’s water is fresh (not salty) and available (not frozen). That mighty 1% provides all of our drinking water, keeps us clean and healthy, delivers food through fishing and crop irrigation, provides us with energy, and houses an incredible range of biodiversity. And that 1% is under threat.   Pollution, ...

The Lebanese Environment Forum has received a CEPF large grant of over $180,000 to promote sustainable hunting practices in Lebanon, using a community-based approach. The project will complement other work by the BirdLife International/UNDP-GEF Migratory Soaring Birds project, and by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL), the BirdLife national Partner.   Despite its small geographi ...

 China and the United States, the world's top emitters of greenhouse gases, pledged on Saturday 15 February, to work together to attenuate the effects of global climate change. "China and the United States will work together ... to collaborate through enhanced policy dialogue, including the sharing of information regarding their respective post-2020 plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions," according to a U ...

Three days into the closure of the road between Naame landfill and Ain Drafil, garbage flooded the roads in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam promised to find a solution if the roads are reopened for garbage collection trucks for 48 hours. Waste collection restarted Sunday night, and the landfill will reopen for 48 hours.   In an April 2010 cabinet session, a raging argume ...