Land use, land use change and forestry related GHG emissions in Lebanon: Economic valuation and policy options

Global climate change has been one of the most challenging environmental concerns facing policy makers in the past decade. The characterization of the wide range of greenhouse gas (GHG) sources and sinks as well as the behavior of GHGs in the atmosphere remains an on-going activity in many countries. Lebanon, being a signatory to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, is required to submit and regularly update a national inventory of GHG emission sources and removals. Accordingly, an inventory of greenhouse gases from various sectors was conducted following the guidelines set by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The inventory indicated that the land use, land use change, and forestry sector contributed about 1% to the total greenhouse gas emissions instead of acting as a sink. This article proposes mitigation scenarios to reduce these emissions and increase carbon sequestration in the Lebanese land use. Limitations in emission estimation, economic valuation, and policy options are also addressed.