Publication: Droughts and Agriculture in Lebanon: Causes, Consequences, and Risk Management
Date
2018-10-01
ISSN
Published
2018-10-01
Author(s)
Ashwill, Maximillian
Christensen, Jen
Mcdonnell, Rachael
Redwood, John
Jomaa, Ihab
Saade, Maurice
Massad, Randa
Chehade, Ali
Bitar, Ahmad
Abstract
This volume examines the causes and
consequences of drought on Lebanon’s agriculture. Lebanon is
getting hotter and dryer. Projections show droughts will
likely become more frequent and severe. Climate change, El
Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the North Atlantic
Oscillation (NAO) impact the occurrence of drought to
varying degrees, with NAO being the biggest short-term
driver and climate change being the biggest long-term
driver. The drier conditions will have important
ramifications on Lebanon’s agricultural economy and the
wellbeing of citizens working in agriculture. Ramifications
include production declines and the loss of livelihoods,
among others. Drought was not considered an important issue
in the country until recently. But, that view is slowly
changing as a series of droughts and other extreme weather
events over the past decade demanded the nation’s attention.
With greater awareness of drought, public institutions
slowly begin to change, moving from reactionary responses to
taking the first steps towards strategic planning. Still,
much more can be done. These actions include: developing a
national drought action plan, establishing drought
monitoring systems, improving ministerial coordination,
utilizing new technologies like Hydroponics and Early
Warning Systems, improving the quantity and quality of
climatic data, and other actions. The individual chapters of
this volume were compiled using information from five
commissioned background papers. These background papers
relied on mostly secondary data sources. But, some primary
data was collected as well. Through key informant interviews
and focus group discussions, thirty stakeholders were
consulted. They represent various research institutes, the
private sector, government agencies, and civil society
organizations. The purpose of this volume is to build off
the 2013 book, Increasing Resilience to Climate Change in
the Agricultural Sector of the Middle East: The Cases of
Jordan and Lebanon (Verner et al. 2013). That book
prioritized agricultural needs in Jordan and Lebanon,
including knowledge generation and technological
advancement. This volume adds to both topics.This report
examines the causes and consequences of drought on Lebanon’s
agriculture. It finds that Lebanon is getting hotter and
dryer, while droughts will likely become more frequent and
more severe. We see that climate change, El Niño Southern
Oscillation (ENSO), and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)
may impact the occurrence of drought to varying degrees,
with NAO being the largest short-term driver and climate
change being the largest long-term driver. The drier
conditions will have important ramifications on Lebanon’s
agricultural economy and the wellbeing of citizens working
in agriculture. Impacts from drier conditions include
production declines, loss of livelihoods, and many others.
Until recently, drought was not considered an important
issue in the country, but that view is slowly changing
because of a series of droughts and other extreme weather
events that occurred over the past decade. With greater
awareness of drought, public institutions have also slowly
begun to change, moving from reactionary responses to taking
the first steps towards strategic planning.
Citation
“Verner, Dorte; Ashwill, Maximillian; Christensen, Jen; Mcdonnell, Rachael; Redwood, John; Jomaa, Ihab; Saade, Maurice; Massad, Randa; Chehade, Ali; Bitar, Ahmad; Treguer, David. 2018. Droughts and Agriculture in Lebanon: Causes, Consequences, and Risk Management. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30595 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”