Alexandre Rocha
São Paulo – Brazil is going to participate in two environmental projects in southern Lebanon. According to information supplied by the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty), a total of US$ 10,000 has been approved by the government and sent to the Brazilian embassy in Beirut. The request for assistance was made by the United Nations (UN) secretary general for the region, Steffan de Mistura.
"Brazilian participation in both enterprises reflects the traditional friendly relations between Brazil and Lebanon, and the Brazilian government position of helping the Lebanese reconstruction process," informs a statement published by the Foreign Relations Ministry.
Both projects are included in the United Nations peace activities, which include the eradication of landmines. The first is a plan for reforesting, baptized "A Tree for a Mine", which basically consists in planting a tree every time a mine is removed from Lebanese soil.
The second program, called "Seeing the South", is a competition between landscaping projects in the region. The designs are by Lebanese students. In all, 21 projects have been enrolled, and on May 11 the judging commission chose 12 finalists. The winners will be announced in September and will have a budget of up to US$ 50,000 for project implementation.
According to information on the "Seeing the South" Internet site, the program objectives are "to encourage a new way of seeing and better understanding the south," as well as "to promote alternative ways of exploring the history (ancient and contemporary), landscape (the natural and the rural cultural) and people (their experience and relationship to their land)."
Withdrawal
After withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon in May 2000, hundreds of thousands of landmines and other explosive artefacts were left behind, the result of over two decades of occupation and internal conflicts.
According to UN information, the process for removal of mines started even before the Israeli troops left. In a period of 10 years, the Lebanese army "cleaned" 20 million square metres of land in the country. After Israeli withdrawal, an operation baptized "Emirates Solidarity," funded by the United Arab Emirates, cleared another five million square metres in just two years. Non-governmental organizations "cleaned" over 400,000 square metres.
According to the UN, despite the efforts, just 50% of the "contaminated" areas in southern Lebanon are free of mines. The number of victims of these explosives, however, has been dropping.
The Emirates are the largest donors for landmine eradication programmes in southern Lebanon, with around US$ 50 million invested in operation "Emirates Solidarity," which ended in May this year.
In an interview to paper Khaleej Times, Steffan de Mistura stated, however, that another 11 countries have contributed for the program. In the case of both environmental projects, he also asked for contributions from other countries, apart from Brazil.
According to the UN envoy, the projects under way are included in the regional development plan as, according to him, the presence of landmines inhibited the return of people to southern Lebanon and reduced local economic development.
Contacts
Mine Action Coordination Centre Southern Lebanon
www.maccsl.org
Seeing the South
www.seeingthesouth.com
