The road to data-driven conservation: Lebanon Reforestation Initiative

Operating on a national level, LRI focuses on landscape restoration through a participatory approach that engages local communities to ensure sustainable outcomes. For the organization, restoration and conservation go hand-in-hand.

"Restoration alone is not enough; it should be coupled with conservation," explains Joseph Bechara, geospatial forestry engineer at LRI.

One of LRI's key contributions to biodiversity conservation is building a comprehensive local structure database. This initiative aims to transform environmental decision-making in Lebanon from "data-unaware implementation of projects to data-driven implementation," ensuring both reactive and proactive approaches to future conservation efforts.

Currently, LRI uses Earth Observation products primarily as visual tools to assess landscape conditions before implementing restoration or conservation projects. However, this approach lacks the analytical output needed for comprehensive environmental monitoring.

Through the PEOPLE-ECCO partnership, LRI will gain access to enhanced Earth Observation capabilities that allow for measuring conservation impact in a scientific and systematic way. This will help them refine and improve their interventions over time while establishing baseline monitoring data to track activities with reference to time.

By integrating advanced and multi-source Earth Observation data into their restoration and conservation efforts, LRI can make data-driven decisions that improve the resilience and sustainability of Lebanon's ecosystems and help identify and prioritize future areas for conservation. 

If you are interested in the activities of Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, you can learn more about them via their official website.