Document(s) 7 of 11

He that will not apply new remedies
must expect new evils.

Francis Bacon

The day of truth finally arrives. I am attending a conference held by the research team to present the results of their project in Arsaal. I am anxious to see what the outcome will be. For so many thousands of years, I have witnessed intervention in many forms, in most cases with disaster in its wake. Conquerors invaded with the intention to improve the lot of the "barbarians", forcing new ways on the local population. Later, others came to preach but, often, slaughtered instead. In the name of change, national dictators were raised up only to bring down civilization as we know it. Even developmental efforts are guilty of bringing good intentions and new technologies that failed and were left rusting in the desert. I have seen ridiculous sights, like that of Bedouins "resettled" in concrete complexes living outside in their tents while their animals enjoyed the new accommodation!

At last, something new has come along, a fresh approach: participation on a voluntary basis and I have been part of it! I could feel the tension rising among the research team members as their creation is about to be unveiled. I hold my breath as the big screen lights up and the team leader introduces the presentation as "Sustainable Improvement of Marginal Lands in Lebanon".

The two project phases analyzed the trend in which land use was changing in Arsaal, defined its impact on the natural resource base, evaluated the sustainability of the major farming systems (physical, biological and socioeconomic) and, together with the community, developed technical and institutional options for sustainable natural resource management.

Given the emphasis on improving sustainability of marginal land in light of swift changes occurring in land use systems and socioeconomic environments, the fulfilment of the project's objectives extended over eight years. Innovative approaches both at the analytical and institutional levels, along with potential technological interventions, required testing and integration at the community level. The second phase of the project also aimed at a greater integration between socioeconomic and technical research outputs.

The discussion here is not designed to present the large number of outputs that emerged from the project. A comprehensive list of the publications that have been generated by the project is included in the bibliography section. Rather, this chapter describes the major outcomes with emphasis on what worked and what did not and why. The outcomes are organized into four major categories:

1. Innovative methodologies developed by the project in natural resource management that could be applied in semi-arid and arid settings

2. Livelihood improvements as related to the different research components that dealt with the sustainability of land use systems

3. The project's impact in terms of broad policy influence, community capacity building and evolving research capacity

4. A new research framework adopted by the project for a better understanding of natural resource allocation

The first two categories of outcomes are presented in this chapter, while the last two will be detailed in the next chapter.

Natural Resource Stories

A number of research approaches were developed by the project that blended technological tools, such as the geographic information system (GIS), with community-based approaches, such as participatory research (hence the term participatory GIS, or PGIS). Three of these GIS tools which relied heavily on community participation will be presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the approaches as well as the possibilities and difficulties of promoting real local participation in the adoption of GIS. We call them natural resource stories, as some of the best insights on natural resource management are conveyed through these stories. The challenge is to distinguish significant stories and combine them with possible field methods to build a coherent body of shared knowledge.

GIS was ideal for the job we set out to do - developing options for the sustainable management of natural resources - as it is designed to support the capture, management, manipulation, analysis, modelling and display of spatially referenced data for solving complex planning and management problems. It offers the speed, flexibility and power required to integrate large quantities of data. However, many of the team members expressed concerns that GIS would force the research away from the end users and back into the laboratory. Those among us involved in GIS-based research argued that the use of GIS is akin to using any modern tool and that it usually is the researcher, rather than the tool, who seeks the peace and quiet of the office. Thus, the decision to use GIS was adopted, with the proviso that it should involve the local community and that the benefits should be directly felt by the stakeholders. This constituted the basic definition of PGIS.

PGIS was used for three purposes: to develop a methodology for evaluating soil degradation, to study land uses, and to plan the locations for siting rainwater-harvesting reservoirs. Details of these methodologies have been published elsewhere (Zurayk et al. 2001a, 2001b; El Awar et al. 2000). Thus, they will be discussed here only in terms of what worked, what did not and why.

GIS-based methodology for soil degradation evaluation

Poor agricultural practices, overgrazing and deforestation over the past three millennia have resulted in widespread degradation of land resources in the drylands of MENA (Dregne 1992). Current global and regional economic developments are inducing further pressure on the land. There is a pressing need for action to mitigate land degradation. Land degradation results from the interaction of human activity, such as agriculture, with the biophysical and socioeconomic characters of a specific ecosystem. When studying large areas, it is necessary to distinguish zones where urgent intervention is required from those which are stable under the current land use system. Achieving this complex task requires (1) the selection of land quality indicators appropriate to the natural and socioeconomic environments, (2) the use of a flexible methodology that easily allows a number of permutations and "what if " scenarios, and (3) replicability and moderate cost.

GIS is ideal for this endeavour. However, the accuracy and relevance of the information produced by GIS are only as good as the data sets available. In developing countries such as Lebanon, especially in remote, marginal and poor areas, data is often non-existent.

Using the limited data available on Arsaal, which included soil maps, contour maps and a land cover map, soil degradation assessment maps were created based on three measurements: drainage density; drainage texture; and factorial scoring of the main soil degradation agents, which were slope, grazing and land use. The approaches adopted for the generation of the maps were based on extensive discussions with farmers and herders. The local perception was that the risk of degradation was low to medium, although this seemed counter-intuitive, considering the extent of aridity of the land. It was finally presumed that the main soil erosion risk in the mountainous areas of Arsaal would be, in theory, high rainfall intensity on steep slopes. However, annual rainfall is very limited and, although data from various ecozones is unavailable, local knowledge indicates that it is similar over the whole area, except in areas of high elevation where the precipitation is mostly snow. This would have little additional effect on soil erosion, thereby limiting the effect of the slope, except in two situations.

The first is in the case of severe, short-duration rainstorms, which produce severe rill and gully erosion. There is no data available on the intensity and duration of these storms, which appear to have a recurrence period of ten years. From local reports and observed erosion patterns, it appears that these events can be very damaging, which explains the severe gullying observed in the mountains and the size of the streams that cut across the otherwise desert-like Eastern zone. In order to account for the effects of storms, an indirect approach was selected. The impact of storm events on a specific area is indicated by the marks they leave on the land. The study of drainage density and drainage texture allowed us to obtain an indication of this effect.

The second is in the case of mechanical disturbance, such as that caused by keeping herds for prolonged periods within a limited area. This effect was accounted for by the development of a grazing pattern coverage analysis.

A combined soil degradation assessment map, integrating the data from the three assessments (drainage density and texture and factorial scoring of soil degradation agents), was produced and successfully field checked. The soil degradation level, or erosion risk, appeared less extreme than the landscape would indicate. The factorial soil degradation assessment resulted in the classification of over 90% of the area in the low and very low soil degradation categories. We speculated that, owing to the low-input agricultural practices, overgrazing was the major soil degradation agent on the land. This was confirmed by the finding that the moderate and high soil degradation levels were present at locations where the animal stocking rate was highest, independent of the slope and land use. Our survey revealed, however, that grazing has become geographically very limited, as herd movement is declining with the availability of hand feeding. Moreover, as the herd size has been declining (from 90,000 to 60,000 over the past 40 years), this would have resulted in further alleviation of the impact of overgrazing. It is to be noted, however, that this situation may be only temporary. Indeed, stone fruit production in the orchards is starting a shift to a higher-input system, and this will increase degradation risk. The methodology developed can readily accommodate this change, and a new factorial map may be produced.

Land stress map

The combination of the three assessments, each representing a different soil degradation mechanism, is therefore expected to produce the most holistic perspective on soil degradation in Arsaal. The drainage maps offer an insight into what has happened (past effects), while the factorial analysis map addresses the current status of the land. Most remarkable is the fact that our findings validated the indigenous perception of land degradation risk in the short and long term.

The approach required limited field measurements and yet provided reliable indications of soil degradation risk. It is technically possible to carry out generalized and semi-generalized land degradation hazard assessment with limited georeferenced data sets. Thus, the technique has the potential to be replicated in similar environmental regions if adapted to include site-specific parameters.

The adoption of a GIS-based procedure required a significant capital investment in material and human resources. However, even though the initial cost was relatively high, the investment proved to be sound as the digital data was available for multiple users, thus increasing the return on the initial investment. Moreover, the capacity of AUB in conducting interactive multidisciplinary research in natural resource management has been greatly improved.

Participatory GIS in land use investigations

Because of technical requirements, land evaluation has been traditionally carried out by planning authorities operating at the central government level and enforced through regulatory mechanisms. This top-down approach commonly results in poor adoption of the directive by the communities concerned (Moote and McClaran 1997). GIS technology is commonly used for this purpose (Hansen et al. 1998). Since the 1980s, non-traditional approaches based on the participation of stakeholders at every stage of the planning process have evolved and are now being proposed as a viable alternative for resource management (Pretty and Shah 1997). This participatory approach can be combined with modern technologies, such as GIS, to provide the "best of both worlds". This combined approach, termed participatory assistance (Lanyon 1994), has been found to promote innovation in farming, research, education, and policy formulation. The implementation of land use studies in the poor drylands of MENA is also faced with the problem of data availability. The information base is poor, unreliable and often inappropriate for the modern land evaluation frameworks. There is therefore a pressing need for the development of an adapted framework for land use studies that is appropriate for data-poor environments and that lends itself readily to stakeholder participation. Rural communities often rely on some form of indigenous land resource evaluation in their traditional land management systems. The incorporation of indigenous evaluation has been advocated so as to improve the relevance of land surveys (Briggs et al. 1998).

It was hoped that the implementation of such an approach in Arsaal, where conflict over land use had emerged between pastoralists and fruit growers, would encourage the adoption of sustainable land management practices by establishing dialogue and partnership among stakeholders. The study aimed at carrying out a land capability classification and a land use analysis. Indigenous knowledge was used as one of the information sources for the land capability classification. GIS technology was used to produce a land capability map and to analyze current land use.

The indigenous agroecological zoning process in Arsaal is systematic and integrates climate and soil attributes. Three general areas (highlands, valleys and the steppe) are recognized and further divided into six agroecozones each with uniform climatic conditions determining the potentials and constraints for crops. Climatic data is inferred from the duration of the snow cover and the incidence of frost, which are used as indicators of temperature and moisture. Ecological indicators of local climate, such as the distribution of plant species, are also used for delineation. For instance, Poterium spinosum delineates the limits of the Western ecozone. Similarly, the occurrence of Artemisa herba alba delineates the Eastern steppe. The landscape division, which is clearly delineated, is commonly used and recognized by the entire community.

Several soil types may be distinguished in Arsaal. They are named by local farmers in relation to their location and categorized according to their agronomic potential following a multi-descriptor system. The system includes depth, colour, texture/water relations and other existing limitations. Farmers evaluate these descriptors during land preparation and planting operations. Soil depth is used as a main descriptor, as it has direct implications on crop yield and moisture reserve. Soil colour is second and locally believed to be related to soil fertility. Soil texture and water relations constitute the third descriptor. Thus, the local community relies on physical factors that can be observed visually. Based on the combination of indigenous soil knowledge and field surveys, a relatively detailed soil map was created in due time and with a limited budget.

The local perception of the causes of land degradation was investigated through a participatory approach in order to determine the relevance of the indicators of land capability. The farmers define land degradation as the reduction in the capacity of the land to produce the desirable biomass. For a farming community, this is synonymous with the loss of utility of the land and carries, therefore, an intrinsic economic dimension. The major determinants of land degradation as perceived by farmers were identified and ranked. These determinants confirmed that the parameters used for land evaluation (slope, texture, effective depth and subsoil permeability) were adequate. It was also found that the main stress on land resources in Arsaal is soil erosion associated with land management practices in the stone fruit orchards, especially the lack of soil conservation measures on slopes that are sometimes steeper than 20 degrees, accompanied by tillage up and down the slope. When approached, the farmers acknowledged that this form of land use is inappropriate and realized the damage resulting from poor agricultural practices, but they proceeded to rationalize every decision taken. They justified the use of steep land for expansion as being the only land available. The absence of structural soil conservation measures, such as the traditional stone-walled terraces, was explained by the cost for their construction and maintenance. Tillage up and down the slope was also deemed necessary, as the tractors would otherwise overturn on the steep slopes.

The land capability framework and the thematic data maps were presented to farmers and used to respond to their queries on land use issues. For example, where could orchards expand with minimal risk of land degradation? The GIS analysis overlaying the land capability map, land cover map and agroecological map allowed the identification of these areas geographically. These areas were delineated on a large-scale map which was made available to the farmers via a series of workshops organized by LUN.

The farmers were also interested to know the geographic locations of the orchards that were established on land of the wrong capability classes. A digital coverage of the orchards was overlaid with the land capability map to delineate inappropriate land use areas. A field assessment confirmed 65% of the areas identified by GIS analysis. In nearly 35% of the remaining cases, however, the GIS analysis failed to identify good cultivable land because of the coarse resolution of the slope map. In these cases, the orchards were located on flat depressions that were protected from erosion by their location. These fields are more fertile as they receive run-off water and sediments from their micro-catchments.

Another question was whether grazing pressure was intensified by the reduction of effective grazing as a result of the expansion of orchards. An overlay of the land cover map and the grazing map indicated that most of the reduction in grazing areas mirrored the expansion of orchards. The total land available for grazing was reduced by nearly 30%. During that same period, Arsaali flocks had been reduced by 30%. It may be that the pastoralists had adapted to the changing land use by reducing flock numbers

Land capability classes

to maintain a steady stocking rate. In this case, however, it is difficult to dissociate the impact of land use changes from other environmental or socioeconomic variables such as shrinking markets, feed availability and drought, all of which were taking place concurrently during the past 30 years.

The participatory approach to land studies is increasingly advocated as a critical step in the development of sustainable land management options (Van Ittersum et al. 1998). These options are built on compromises and on conflict avoidance and resolution. The approach has applied well to the situation in Arsaal, where disagreement over land use is in part related to differences in the perception of what constitutes sustainable land use among settled farmers and pastoralists. By getting together and participating in the process, stakeholders have achieved a common perception of land as a multifunctional resource and have realized that any decision must be built on trade-offs. Nonetheless, a pertinent issue remains as to the usefulness of land use studies and their impact in situations where strategic thinking is overcome by day-to-day realities, as is the case in Arsaal. For instance, the project has helped identify land parcels, currently under annual cropping, on which orchard cultivation may be expanded. Although this shift may result in larger cash inflow in the short term, the long-term effects on both the community and the land may be very damaging. Annual cropping, based on the tradition of legume-cereal rotation, is a sustainable, fertility-conserving and pest-limiting system, while orchards, practically a monoculture, require large external input. Such a shift would improve economic sustainability as perceived by the stakeholder while potentially endangering the ecological sustainability of the farming system.

Hydrospatial hierarchical method for siting
water-harvesting reservoirs

Water shortage is the main limiting factor in dryland agriculture, the result of low annual rainfall depth and the non-uniform temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall. Water harvesting has been used since ancient times to supplement scarce water resources in dry areas. It has recently received renewed attention, with indigenous and traditional knowledge readily integrated (Samra et al. 1996). Site selection for small irrigation reservoirs is based on hydrological, topographical and socioeconomic considerations (Verma and Sharma 1990; Srivastava 1996).

Our project aimed at developing a new methodology for locating and ranking suitable sites for small water-harvesting reservoirs to make use of the rainfall which is mostly lost to evaporation and surface run-off. To begin with, a field survey was conducted in the project area to assess the socioeconomic feasibility of building small irrigation reservoirs in the Arsaal area for rainwater harvesting. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to a sample of 100 local farmers. The questionnaire was divided into four sections: personal data, inventories, acceptance of the idea, and willingness to contribute to the project. In addition, a field study was conducted to assess the feasibility of building water-harvesting reservoirs versus other means of finding new water resources for sustaining agriculture in the area.

The socioeconomic study revealed an overwhelming acceptance of water harvesting as a means of making new water resources available for agriculture in the area. Enthusiasm for the idea among local farmers was expressed by their willingness to contribute labour, machinery, land and any other resources at their disposal.

The method used was based on quantifying the overall suitability of a site for small water-harvesting reservoirs through a reservoir suitability index calculated for potential candidate sites. This index was developed using hydrological modelling in conjunction with GIS and an analytical hierarchy process, which was used for quantitative assessment and ranking of alternatives. The resulting method, called hydrospatial analytical hierarchy process, excluded sites where reservoirs could not be built because of physical constraints and/or restrictive land use policies and regulations, and ranked the rest of the sites based on their respective index values.

Reservoir suitability index map

All selection criteria and their weights were based on indigenous knowledge and expertise in the pilot area as well as on published literature. A participatory approach was applied to determine the criteria for site selection and to fine-tune threshold values used for site attribute classification. Exclusionary criteria for initial screening of potential reservoir sites were selected by farmers according to land use attributes in the study area. For instance, reservoirs should not be built in any existing stone fruit orchard, because diminishing the agricultural area in the region would defeat the purpose of the study. In other words, priority was given to current land use for stone fruit production over its potential for water harvesting. Furthermore, reservoirs were not to be located in any of the numerous quarries in the area to avoid deep seepage losses in fractured limestone areas. Non-exclusionary criteria, such as the proximity of a water reservoir to stone fruit orchards and other agricultural lands, were also chosen by farmers. Obviously, the objective was to ensure the economic feasibility of reservoirs in the context of the low-input agriculture practised in Arsaal.

The application of the hydrospatial methodology showed that it worked efficiently for small water-harvesting reservoirs. Moreover, the method proved to be highly flexible when it came to selecting criteria for reservoir siting, as their attributes were developed according to indigenous knowledge and local expertise.

A standard methodology for selecting small irrigation reservoir sites in dry marginal land was now available to be broadly applied across similar regions in the Middle East. The main proposed change to the model was the consideration of long-term sub-basin water yield in the reservoir-siting procedure. Field testing of the initial results was the next logical step to be taken by building one or two reservoirs and monitoring precipitation, snowpack and run-off for two or three years to calibrate and refine the developed methodology.

In addition to serving as a tool to verify the developed methodology, building the reservoirs would have been a tangible output from this project for the local community in Arsaal that leads to direct benefits for the local farmers. Consequently, the community was consulted on the technical design to be adopted for the construction of the reservoir in light of existing traditional knowledge. Traditional cisterns lined with clay and gypsum and locally known as roman wells are commonly used for harvesting rainwater at individual orchard gates. Farmers were not receptive to the idea of using plastic to line the bottom of the reservoir. In their opinion, the prohibitive cost of the plastic lining would seriously limit the chance for adoption by the community at large. The local argument was well taken, and the indigenous option was adopted.

Several samples of local earth material were tested for prospective use in lining the reservoir. One sample with acceptable characteristics was selected for further field testing. Owing to financial constraints, only one reservoir was constructed, and the performance of the lining material was monitored. Sadly, the indigenous lining technique used for small earth-embedded cisterns was not the most appropriate one for larger, semi-oval open reservoirs. An unfortunate succession of severe droughts resulted in large cracks and significant leaks probably due to excessive evapotranspiration and long exposure to sunlight and torrid heat. We had been too carried away by the excitement of what appeared to be local domestication of the technique and lost sight of what could possibly go wrong. Moreover, what was considered by the project to be a minor technical setback was perceived by our local partners as a major failure for their partnership with the project. According to us, we were simply testing an innovative methodology for reservoir siting. But for them the promise of a tangible development output for the whole community was now in doubt.

The reservoir

Although the technical failure was linked to the inappropriateness of the local lining technique, we were basically taxed for our overzealous participatory approach. Or was it that the weighing up of old methods against new technologies seldom translates effortlessly into acceptance by local farmers? In his review of water research at the local level, Brooks (2002) concluded that small and simple approaches are more likely to be adopted and put to lasting use than grand designs which require significant investment.

As a matter of fact, efforts were directed to attracting development funds from a World Bank-supported integrated water management project to be implemented by the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture. The World Bank experts showed great interest in the application of the technique nationwide, and Arsaal was shortlisted as a potential site for project implementation. Suddenly, all the excitement subsided, and Arsaal "mysteriously" vanished from the short-list of potential sites. We were later informed by ministerial sources that Arsaal did not carry the political weight required.

Improving Livelihoods

Although the project maintained its focus on research, there was pressure from the community to generate tangible short-term development outcomes. Considerable efforts were devoted to involving development partners at different stages of the project's implementation.

A classical farming systems approach was investigated to fully understand the components of the shift in resource use, identify the target groups, define constraints, and formulate technical options for intervention (Hamadeh et al. 1999). The emphasis was on assessing the sustainability of the agricultural land use systems, namely small ruminant production and rainfed fruit production.

One hundred farms were clustered based on criteria such as farm size, animal and crop production, and principal sources of income. The analysis revealed that cereal production is still practised by most of the farmers with a minimal contribution to their income. In contrast, fruit production is contributing substantially to income generation. Off-farm activities combined with fruit and cereal production and minimal livestock activities generated most of the income for 51% of farmers. For 35% of farmers, fruit production was the major contributor to income. Only 14% derived most of their income from small ruminant production.

A survey of 400 households revealed that the majority of farmers are small holders because of shortage of cash and lack of financing. Income from agriculture is becoming supplementary as more farmers engage in off-farm activities to fulfil their basic needs (Darwish et al. 2001). It was quite remarkable that the extensive survey covered 10% of all households in Arsaal. Needless to say, the involvement of ARDA and LUN made such a gigantic endeavour possible, and even pleasant. The project economist happened to be an Egyptian and was flabbergasted by the number of Gamal Abdul Nasser (Egyptian president who symbolized Arab nationalism) portraits in Arsaali homes.

Small ruminants under pressure

An assessment of the constraints in livestock production in Arsaal revealed four small ruminant subsystems ranging from semi-nomadic to settled with marked variations in resource use (Hamadeh et al. 1999). Analysis of feeding and management calendars indicated that hand feeding accounted for 30%–80% of the animal diet according to season, with most of the feed being purchased from the local market. In response to the shrinking grazing land (being converted to fruit production and quarrying uses) and therefore limited feed availability, the once traditional pastoral systems are declining and developing into more sedentary ones that are highly interlinked with the feed resources of high rainfall zones. Furthermore, a detailed bioeconomic analysis revealed that small ruminant systems are under severe pressure and in most cases show negative economic returns (Hamadeh et al. 2001). Feed expenses, when coupled with grazing costs, represent a major constraint on profitability. Nevertheless, farmers consider small ruminants to be a source of capital when cash is needed.

The assessment of range resources in Arsaal indicated very low productivity coupled with a major deficiency in forage legume seed banks irrespective of the ecozone. Severe overgrazing in localized grazing areas is suspected.

The farmers perceive the major constraints to small ruminant profitability to be poor animal performance, health problems, lack of veterinary service, low feed availability, and poor marketing of animal products, milk in particular.

Ripened fruits

In comparison to small ruminants, low-input production of fruit trees adapted to marginal environments has proved to be a more sustainable alternative with minor biological and management problems (Talhouk et al. 1996). One of the biggest problems is the cultivation of orchards on slopes without any form of structural barrier to soil erosion. This may not pose serious problems in the "normal" years of low rainfall, which explains the farmers' lack of interest in investing in soil erosion prevention. However, this becomes catastrophic in the occurrence of storm events, which recur approximately once every 7–10 years. Some farmers have recognized this long-term issue and have invested in soil conservation. Lack of technical knowledge and low capital availability also explain the little importance accorded to soil conservation. Soil investigations showed low soil fertility and low levels of organic matters, and further fertility decline is inevitable as little fertility improvement takes place. Indigenous technical knowledge adapted to the recently adopted tree-based farming system is lacking.

Economically, cherry and apricot production was found to be profitable compared to other traditional crops (Saliby 1998). Moreover, fruit production by far has been more profitable and less demanding in time and labour than small ruminant production. Cherry production in the higher jurds of Arsaal has a major advantage in that the fruits mature one month later than the national average maturity time. Unfortunately, this unique maturity time has not been capitalized by the farmers because of limited marketing opportunities and a poor transportation infrastructure. Instead, the value of the crop is similar to the national average price at the farm gate. In addition, the farming method is fully organic in most of the orchards, and this could be a selling point. This green approach is not due to awareness among the farmers but is mostly related to the remoteness of the village, which keeps chemical suppliers away. According to farmers, the sustainability of the low-input production system is limited by the lack of knowledge about cultural practices, low soil fertility, emerging pest problems and primitive marketing structures.

Scenarios

Based on socioeconomic data, an optimization model of marginal land use in Arsaal was developed within a sustainable framework, taking into consideration the resource constraints present in the area. The optimization model would be utilized to better allocate the productive resources (land, labour and capital) and to increase the revenue of small farm holdings (farms of less than five hectares). Results showed that capital is the most binding constraint in the area, and an increase in capital leads to a significant growth in net revenue. In addition, integrated crop-livestock systems were shown to offer more sustainable land use if supported by a sound credit system.

Another study was conducted to assess the competitiveness of agriculture in light of the expansion of quarrying activities and to predict whether both activities would still operate complementarily in the future or if quarrying would replace agriculture as the major economic activity (Geadah 1998). Different scenarios were considered for agricultural activities based on farming intensity, land cost and family opportunity cost. Quarrying activities were defined as consisting of rock quarrying, gravel quarrying and brick making. Both rock quarrying and brick making activities were then subdivided into three different scenarios based on land ownership and rock input ownership (for brick making activities only).

External environmental and health costs related to quarrying activities were estimated and added to the total cost of such activities. Analysis and comparison of the different scenarios for the different activities indicated that financial returns from quarrying activities exceed those from intensive farming, even if environmental and health costs are taken into account, and that quarrying contributes much more than agriculture to the economy of the village. The high returns offered by quarrying lure villagers to the industry, especially when no other major income-generating alternatives exist in the village. If proper zoning for quarries is adopted, agriculture can still exist alongside quarrying, especially when we consider that the sector employs the largest portion of the population. The sector can be boosted and strengthened by combining traditional crops with fruit growing. Nevertheless, comparative analysis of the interaction of the various land use systems with the environment is needed to assess their long-term sustainability.

Follow-up agenda

A series of workshops were organized through LUN to explore possible interventions in light of the research results. Fruit growers requested training on optimal cultural practices, identifying main pest problems and plant diseases, formulating sustainable control measures, and improving marketing. With respect to soil fertility and erosion problems, farmers were advised to consider the possibility of intercropping a rapid-growing legume in cherry orchards to raise soil fertility. Some farmers, especially those who relied entirely on orchards, were not very receptive to this recommendation. They strongly believed that the legume would compete with the trees for moisture, thereby reducing tree vitality. Farmers with mixed operations (livestock and fruit trees), however, showed great interest and volunteered to conduct trials.

It was also agreed that a structural soil conservation approach be developed based on methods used by local Arsaali farmers, such as intercropping with dwarf wild almond hedges, leaving strips uncultivated and building stone bund contours.

Cherry orchard

Discussions with herders led to the following options for intervention: (1) to improve flock productivity and management, (2) to improve feed resources through intercropping and crop rotation, and (3) to explore the feasibility of a processing and marketing cooperative involving pastoral women.

Delivery

As follow-up, several training activities were conducted by LUN with the involvement of various project partners. For instance, a series of workshops targeting fruit growers were organized in cooperation with extension agents from ICARDA on proper cultural practices. Based on the demand from growers, a workshop on orchard establishment, covering pruning and grafting, was held. From this workshop, which involved field demonstrations, it was very clear that trees were poorly trained initially as many tended to have double trunks. In addition, pruning of bearing trees was inadequate. Despite the fact that Arsaal has become the largest cherry and apricot producing area in Lebanon, production of these fruits is a relatively new practice in Arsaal and its farmers' knowledge of the required cultural practices is limited. Improper training and pruning of trees will eventually decrease tree productivity and in some cases lead to decline.

In addition, an insect monitoring campaign was successfully conducted with the active cooperation of farmers. Pests and their natural enemies were identified, and integrated pest management techniques were introduced to farmers. Farmers discovered that many of the insect species considered by them as beneficial to cereal production were very harmful to fruit production.

Several interventions were introduced by the project and its LUN partners (ICARDA and the Mashreq-Maghreb project) to develop integrated crop-livestock activities with the aim of improving the sustainability of the two major farming systems. A promising intervention consists of growing forage legumes under orchard trees as fodder and at the same time as a green manure.

Intercropping with forage legumes such as vetch and lathyrus species results in satisfactory yields to provide feed for small ruminants while improving soil fertility. It was hoped that, once adopted by farmers, the intercropping technique would enhance the integration of the animal-orchard system and would produce socioeconomic benefits. The initial resistance of the farmers was quickly overcome by the positive results and the low input required for the implementation. Except for the seeds which

Vetch under cherry trees

were provided by the project, the technique could be integrated into the regular production cycle followed by the farmers at no extra cost.

The adoption rate of the technique doubled on a yearly basis but was limited by seed availability, as few farmers were able to produce their own seeds. The project called on the intervention of a development project (on combating desertification in Lebanon) implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and supported and executed by the German GTZ. GTZ agreed to support the herders' cooperative in establishing irrigated plots for forage seed production. The cooperative was requested, in return, to develop its own scheme for seed production in order to improve the sustainability of the intercropping system.

Other field trials initiated by the sub-network concerned with integrated crop-livestock systems with the cooperation of various research and development partners (ICARDA, LARI, IFAD and UNDP) in addition to the local cooperative were less successful owing to overwhelming limitations. For example, pre-sowing legumes into barley fields gave very promising results to start with (four times the yield usually reported by farmers), but very poor yields followed as a result of a succession of drought years. Various attempts at range rehabilitation (reseeding with negative legumes, planting of fodder shrubs) were partial failures because of the lack of range protection, high establishment cost or both.

The cooperative

It is worth mentioning that the local herders' cooperative, which was newly established, was instrumental in facilitating technology transfer to farmers as well as in executing mini development projects as incentives to stimulate local commitment to research efforts. Members of the cooperative trained on new techniques would in turn disseminate the techniques to non-members via farmer-to-farmer training and farmer-designed trials.

A good example of this successful approach was the introduction of an integrated management package to improve flock productivity and reduce flock size (Tami 2002). The package was developed with the active participation of cooperative members and consisted of (1) a preventive health programme to cut down on medication expenses, (2) a feed optimization process based on least cost analysis and animal nutrient requirements during the critical months of late pregnancy and early lactation, and (3) a basic selection procedure for culling unproductive animals. The idea was to show farmers that an integrated approach to flock productivity is critical to achieving positive outcomes. The sale of culled animals would cover the extra expenses, if any, required to improve nutrition. The project drew on the resources of the IFAD and Mashreq-Maghreb projects, which provided funds for the preventive health programme. Initial on-farm trials were conducted by members of the cooperative, who agreed to cover part of the expenses. Results obtained were very encouraging and clearly indicated economic feasibility. The cooperative, energized by the good news, developed a creative mechanism to encourage herders to adopt the package. The hardest part was to convince them to practise basic culling and to reduce their animal numbers. Traditionally, herders keep extra unproductive animals to counteract the risk of unexpected mortality due to harsh climate or disease. The cooperative proposed not only to buy the culled animals but also to provide a cheap feed incentive for each animal culled. The sustainable approach, which was inspired by traditional practices, turned out to be highly successful at convincing herders to adopt the technical package as well as attracting new members to the cooperative.

"We feel proud once again. We can help other herders in the true tradition of pastoralism. We are recovering from years of despair and isolation. We can work together and trust each other as we used to do in the past," claimed Abu Waleed, the cooperative president.

A pilot range rehabilitation trial was also conducted by the herders' cooperative with the financial assistance of GTZ within the framework of one of its ongoing projects. The objective of the trial was to show the benefit of range protection and rehabilitation as a means of combating desertification. The local community would then be motivated to take over, replicate and sustain the process. GTZ assisted the process by supporting the establishment of a pilot trial. An area of at least five hectares was protected by the local cooperative and planted with Atriplex edible shrubs produced in a locally established nursery also managed by the cooperative. Again, the commitment of the cooperative to protecting the plantation proved instrumental in helping the trial succeed. Other range rehabilitation trials, conducted prior to the creation of the cooperative, fell flat because of the lack of protection on unregulated open access common land. This clearly demonstrates the important role of the cooperative in advocating and accepting change.

The lack of market accessibility and credit facilities has been identified as major obstacles to the economic sustainability of the farming systems in Arsaal (Darwish et al. 2001). A market survey was developed to estimate the demand for Arsaali products. It covered the relevant markets and provided information on prices and market structure, potential and limitations. Based upon the market potential of Arsaali products, processes and frameworks were designed to improve the effectiveness of marketing and supply cooperatives for fresh and processed agricultural and artisanal products. Participatory workshops were conducted to expose farmers and especially women to the different structures and functional forms of such cooperatives and their potential benefits. Cost/benefit analyses were conducted for various products, such as homemade jam, dried fruit and dairy products.

In addition to the improvement in the sustainability of the farming systems in Arsaal and the resulting improved livelihoods, the project carried out a variety of studies ranging from research on biodiversity resources in Arsaal to nutritional assessment of children. These studies stemmed from the project objectives and developed into full-blown studies driven by either researcher interest (for biodiversity) or community demand (for nutritional assessment). For instance, a survey of plant diversity indicated the presence of many rare native fruit species, including wild almonds, wild pears and wild pistachios. The results attracted a regional project on agrobiodiversity to Arsaal. A nursery for these native species was established by LUN, and efforts are now being concentrated on the in situ conservation of these species.

Cactus Technology Transfer

El Harid tosses and turns in his sleep; he is having a bad dream. An awful thing has happened. A disaster!

An unbelievable spectacle of hillsides covered with succulent, shiny, smooth, newly sprouted cacti. Their shiny, smooth surfaces glisten and shimmer in the early morning sunshine. And, worse still, everyone wants them. El Harid tries to shut his ears to the "ooooohs" and "aaaaahs" of farmers. In a jiffy, it seems, most have already been harvested.

El Harid's head droops. He must face up to it: spikes are a defect. He's defunct.

Wait a minute! Where's that magazine that fluttered by last week. Hey, look at this!

INSTANT MIRACLE CREAM

HAIR-GONE

DON'T WASTE TIME WITH OLD-FASHIONED REMEDIES

HAIR-GONE

THE RESULTS YOU WANT QUICK AND FAST

A week later, El Harid tries out the newly delivered jar of hair remover cream.

New technology is the best! Can't wait to show off my shiny SMOOTH skin . . . Ouch! What's that? . . . Yuk! Spots! Lots of them.

Poor El Harid spends the rest of the day crouching in the shadows, trying to hide his unsightly blotchy rash.

The new image

Document(s) 7 of 11