LEBANON - Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani issued a circular setting out measures for cleaning forests, reducing combustible vegetation and organizing preventive grazing, while seeking to protect trees and natural regeneration.
The ministry said the approach shifts the focus from responding to fires after they start to managing forests and fire risks in advance.
Under the circular, the Agriculture Ministry will work with municipalities and environmental organizations to carry out pruning, cleaning, thinning and the removal of flammable vegetation in state-owned forests and woodland areas, particularly stands of Brutian pine.
The work will be based on technical assessments identifying the needs and priorities of each site. Regional offices of the Agriculture Ministry will also prepare lists of forests and woodlands owned by the Lebanese Republic that require maintenance and preventive measures, allowing resources to be directed toward areas considered most vulnerable to fires.
Vegetation and other materials collected during maintenance operations will be managed and sold in accordance with applicable laws, the ministry said, in an effort to prevent unregulated forestry activities and illegal cutting.
Municipalities will play a central role in the prevention system. They will be responsible for identifying forests and woodland areas they own or that fall within their communal lands and submitting the lists to the Agriculture Ministry’s regional offices for technical inspections and determination of the required work.
Municipalities will then carry out maintenance work on their properties and communal lands, either directly or through contracting, in coordination with the ministry and in accordance with legal procedures.
The measures also require the regular cleaning of roadsides by removing dry grass, waste and other flammable materials. The ministry said this would help reduce the risk of fires spreading between populated areas and roads and nearby forests and woodland.
The circular also establishes regulated grazing as a preventive forest-management tool. Grazing will be permitted in areas that have not been affected by fires and where it is legally allowed, to reduce dry grass and other combustible vegetation.
Grazing will require authorization from the Forests and Natural Resources Department, with permits specifying the location, duration, number of livestock and species involved.
The ministry said the system is intended to protect trees and natural regeneration while preventing overgrazing. Legal tendering procedures for grazing will also apply to state- and municipality-owned forests and woodland.
Grazing will be prohibited in forests and areas affected by fires or cutting for the period specified by law, as well as in locations where grazing is otherwise prohibited under existing regulations. The restrictions are intended to protect natural regeneration and prevent soil and vegetation degradation.
Minister Hani instructed authorities to halt any unauthorized cutting, pruning, thinning or grazing activities and to issue violation reports against those responsible before referring cases to the competent authorities in accordance with legal procedures.
The minister said protecting Lebanon’s forests cannot rely solely on firefighting after fires break out, arguing that prevention must begin with proactive forest management.
“The forest is not only trees, but an integrated ecosystem,” Hani said, stressing the need for scientific vegetation management, regular maintenance, organized cleaning, regulated grazing and stronger monitoring.
He also called for closer cooperation between the ministry, municipalities, local communities and environmental organizations, describing forest protection as a shared national responsibility.
The ministry said the measures are also part of its broader policy on sustainable forest management, biodiversity protection and preservation of natural regeneration amid increasing wildfire and climate-related risks.
The circular takes effect immediately. Specialized units within the Agriculture Ministry will oversee its implementation in the field and coordinate with relevant local authorities to strengthen a national system for preventing forest and woodland fires and protecting Lebanon’s forest resources.
