Mainstreaming Biodiversity Management into Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Production Processes

The overall project goal is to secure globally significant Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) in Lebanon that form a resource-base for local livelihood and national development. The project objective is to integrate conservation objectives into the gathering, processing and marketing of globally significant MAPs. For that purpose, the project will create incentives for local communities to sustainably manage the wild stocks by ensuring the increased financial returns flow to the guardians of wild MAP stocks and are directly linked to sustainable harvest and management practices. The project will introduce a sustainable management regime for the target species, supporting both the establishment of community-based MAP small business enterprises for the benefit of local people, and value-added production systems. The project will build awareness in the private sector and among consumers, as well as capacity and technical knowledge to ensure a shift in the production system, and will support the establishment of a national MAP Association (regulatory body) and a certification system for sustainable wild collection.