Organized by

MECTAT

Participants in 2002 workshop during a guided tour in Downtown Beirut

Why a workshop for municipalities?
A municipality is an official body that improves people's lives in a city, a town or a village by addressing and facilitating basic needs.

A municipality provides a variety of services ranging from water management, sewage treatment and solid waste management to landscaping and transport. Municipal operations and activities have, therefore, a tremendous effect on the environment and the health and well-being of citizens.

A municipality is at the core of sustainable development processes. By ensuring that economic advancement is in harmony with the emancipation of the society and the preservation of the environment, a municipality is the guarantor for a good quality of life not only for present generations but also for future ones.

All the above can only be met when municipal cadres are well informed and prepared to deal with a wide range of environmental issues in order to plan and implement the most appropriate measures.

Why a second training workshop?
After the big success of the first training workshop organized for municipalities cadres in 2002, we were asked several times to organize another workshop on environmental management to meet the growing environmental needs of municipalities, all over the Arab world.

What is the program?
The workshop addresses environmental questions of global and regional importance. It presents, as well, the latest techniques and methodologies used for managing environmental problems.

The topics covered in the workshop include: solid waste management, water and wastewater issues, socio-environmental conflicts, energy efficiency, climate change, environmental planning and many other themes. Top environmental experts will address these issues in a highly interactive manner.

The workshop incorporates, in addition to lectures, audiovisual presentations, informational visits, field trips, demonstrations and relies highly on the active involvement and contribution of the participants.

Participants in 2002 workshop visit Biogas plant in Marjayoun

What is the main purpose?
The main purpose of the workshop is to transfer the know-how to municipal cadres in order to empower them with the right tools for addressing properly the environmental needs of their communities..

Who should participate?
The workshop is designed for engineers, technicians, decision makers and staff members working for municipalities and ministries of environment, natural resources, energy and health.

What are the benefits for participants?
- Gaining knowledge of the local and global environmental challenges.
- Becoming aware of environmentally-friendly solutions to municipal issues.
- Learning about the procedures used for delivering standard, cost effective and efficient municipal services.
- Getting aware of the modes of integrating environmental objectives and activities into municipal work plans.
- Interacting with distinguished environmental specialists and fellow municipal staff from all over the Arab world.

What is the goal of the workshop?
The ultimate goal of the training workshop is to promote green solutions which reconcile economic development with environmental protection, in order to enable the participants to select municipal programs and policies which have less impact on the environment and insure a better use of natural resources.
Ultimately, we actively pursue the creation of sustainable societies.

THE ORGANIZERS

The Workshop is organized by MECTAT (Middle East Center for the Transfer of Appropriate Technology) and Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine.

Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia is the leading environmental magazine, distributed in all Arab countries. It is used by students, environmentalists, decision makers, and others as a dependable source for environmental information.

MECTAT (Middle East Centre for the Transfer of Appropriate Technology) is an Environmental Resource Centre, established in 1982 in Beirut. It has been involved, since then, in promoting environmentally sound technologies and raising environmental awareness in Lebanon and other Arab countries.

MECTAT is affiliated to Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine and acts as its research and training department.

Fields of interest: Environmental education and training, environmental management, waste management (solid and liquid), renewable energy (solar, biomass, wind), coastal zone management, organic farming, small scale food processing and preservation, water resources development, environmental information and other themes.

Activities: Organization and conduction of training workshops, consultancies, research, publications, environmental exhibitions, audio visual material production, transfer of know-how through various modes of mass communication.

In April 2002, MECTAT & Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine organized, in Beirut, a regional training workshop for municipalities on environmental management. 28 participants from 12 Municipalities of 8 Arab countries participated in this 5-day training workshop. The program included lectures by highly qualified experts, field trips, group discussions.

In the field of environmental education for schools, MECTAT has organized, since 1997, many training workshops and seminars for teachers. In addition, it has launched environmental competitions for students, prepared TV programs related to environment and established hundreds of school environment clubs.

In October-November 1999, six training workshops for school teachers of Lebanon were conducted by MECTAT, in cooperation with Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine. 200 teachers from 162 schools benefited from the training program, which was designed to improve the knowledge and awareness of teachers on the environmental problems. In March 2001, two teachers training workshops for 55 teachers were delivered by MECTAT in Abu Dhabi and in Sharjah, in the UAE. In 2002, other teachers training workshops were conducted in Syria, in Abu Dhabi (in collaboration with ERWDA) and in Djibouti (in collaboration with with PERSGA). In 2003 and 2004, additional environmental education workshops were conducted for teachers in Lebanon.

MECTAT & Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine in cooperation with TELELIBAN, the public TV station in Lebanon, introduced in October 1998 the first environmental television program in Lebanon, the "Environment Club". The entire program was developed, researched, written and managed by MECTAT & Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia magazine. 39 environmental episodes, 30 minutes each, were prepared and then relayed by TELELIBAN during 1998/1999.

On the other hand, annual environmental competitions have been organized for schools since 1997. More than 100,000 students per year participated in those competitions. Currently, MECTAT & Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia support more than 350 environment clubs in schools.

On the regional and international level, MECTAT has provided services (training workshops, consultancies, publications) to the following international organizations: UNEP, FAO, ILO, IFAD, UNIDO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO and others.

For inquiries or details contact:
E-mail: envidev@mectat.com.lb
P.O.Box: 113-5474, Beirut 1103 2040, Lebanon
Tel: (961)1-321800, Fax: (961)1-321900