Global CA-CoP CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
for sustainable agriculture, land use and ecosystem management
Amir Kassam
Moderator
Global CA-CoP
URL: http://www.fao.org/conservation-agriculture
Hello friends,
I would like to share with you this story by WFP global on our work in Lebanon and the importance of the soil superheroes and their role in soil health to head towards food security.
Regards,
Kassem
From: Edmond KHOURY <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2021 9:23 AM
To: CO LBN All staff <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: Kassem JOUNI <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: 🌎🌍🌏 Happy Earth Day
🌎🌍🌏
Full story here: Mother Earth Day: ‘Earthworms are our ecosystem’s unsung superheroes’
At a World Food Programme (WFP) forest management site in the north of Lebanon, Kassem Jouni, programme policy officer for livelihoods, digs his hand into the soil. There, hidden from plain sight, an earthworm appears — an “unsung superhero” as he likes to call it.
Surrounded by WFP and Lebanon Reforestation Initiative livelihoods project participants, Kassem explains that this tiny earthworm has a lot to offer. “It leads to an increase in nutrient availability and a more stable soil structure,” he says, adding that an earthworm’s presence usually indicates soil conditions that are ideal for plant growth.

WFP’s forest management interventions are boosting livelihoods and preserving Lebanon’s greenery. Designed in collaboration with local authorities, such projects create common grounds for people, be they refugees or Lebanese, who find themselves grouped together — this, in turn, breaks down social barriers and enhances cohesion.
Currently, we are pruning and cleaning existing forests to reduce the risk of fire — which we call fuel reduction within our programme. The pruned materials from forests are used by local communities and farmers either to produce compost or as mulch for crops — both are rich in organic material that favour the environment for more earthworms.

Since 2017, WFP and partners have planted 673,325 native seedlings in 1,184 hectares of public lands, and established 2,071 km of walking and hiking trails aimed at supporting ecotourism.
By applying advanced techniques related to soil rehabilitation, land reclamation, training on innovation in agriculture and supporting sustainable agriculture programs, WFP provides an overarching response that has already protected and preserved 467 hectares of Lebanese forests from the risk of fire.

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