AF sites selection report

The report outlines the methodology used to select suitable sites for the implementation of Agroforestry practices in the North and Rashaya corridors of Lebanon. The selection process began with a call for private landowners' applications for the implementation of Agroforestry practices. The call was conducted in two kick-off meetings with the Corridor Planning Committees of Rashaya and North in October 2019 and January 2019, respectively. The application form (Annex 1) was transmitted to the villages of both corridors, and landowners were requested to submit their applications within a two-week period. A total of 22 applications were submitted for the Rashaya corridor, out of which 14 were eligible based on the preliminary criteria identified by the Agroforestry Committee of Experts (Table 1). Similarly, 11 applications were submitted for the North corridor, all of which were eligible based on the same criteria. The eligible applications were then surveyed by the LRI team, who visited the sites and interviewed the landowners to collect baseline assessment information. The committee of experts gathered on March 6, 2019, to assess the applications received and define a list of shortlisting criteria (Table 2). Each eligible candidate site was defined with its limiting criterion/criteria when applicable, with a grading of showcasing level (Low-Medium-High), and with favoring criterion/criteria when applicable. Each committee member voted for five sites in each corridor, and the sites having the highest number of votes were selected as per the voting matrix (Table 3). The shortlisted North sites were NAF_1, NAF_4b, NAF_5, NAF_8, and NAF_11, while the shortlisted Rashaya sites were RAF_1, RAF_7, RAF_8, RAF_9, and RAF_11. The experts' assessment of the shortlisted sites was conducted based on a detailed set of criteria, divided into four main categories of expertise: ecological and practical agriculture criteria, social and influential criteria, marketing criteria, and LRI criteria. The criteria were set by the experts in each category, as detailed in Table 5. The experts assessed the site conditions and status and conducted an interview with each applicant to generate a clearer and objective judgment on the potential convenient sites for Agroforestry and the potential collaboration with influential community members. The assessment was conducted based on a scoring system, where each site was assigned a score based on its performance in each category. The final scoring matrix compiling the scoring categories and their corresponding scores and final values is detailed in Table 7. The final AF sites selected for implementation were NAF_1, NAF_4b, NAF_5, NAF_8, and NAF_11 in the North corridor, and RAF_1, RAF_7, RAF_8, RAF_9, and RAF_11 in the Rashaya corridor. The LRI contribution in the selected sites is detailed in Table 10, which outlines the potential AF systems and practices to be applied on the selected sites. The report concludes with the signatures of the committee members, indicating their approval of the selected sites and the proposed implementation plan.