Results of the "CoLD - Improving Coastal Land Degradation Monitoring in Lebanon and Syria" project were presented and discussed at the Final Presentation Conference (1-2 December 2004) in Damascus. The project was addressed to improve Lebanese and Syrian national capacities of relying on advanced tools for environmental management and planning of coastal areas, according to the principles of sustainable development. It was carried out by Lebanese (National Centre for Remote Sensing - NCRS) and Syrian (General Organization of Remote Sensing - GORS) national teams, in close co-operation and with the support of the MAP Regional Activity Centres, namely ERS and PAP. The main activities of CoLD and responsible RACs were the following:
• the "Reconnaissance Survey" - ERS/RAC
• the "Detailed Analysis", the "Strategy and Recommendations" and the "Interactive Participatory Programme" - PAP/RAC
• the "GIS" - ERS/RAC and PAP/RAC.
The project main objective was to provide a clear reference framework for approaching the issue of land degradation in coastal areas and for implementing sound conservation and sustainable development measures.
The CoLD project was financialy supported by the European Commission LIFE Third Countries programme.