Another side of the country - and some of its people

"When the human brain achieved maturity, man discovered hiking," said Michael Moufarej, manager of Liban Trek, Lebanon's first ecotourism company. Dismissing Darwin, Moufarej continues: "The first one is an evolutionary theory and this is a revolutionary theory."

Moufarej was giving a talk about the Lebanon Mountain Trail on Monday afternoon to a general meeting of the Women's League at the Bathish Auditorium at the American University of Beirut.

The Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT) project seeks to establish a 300-kilometer hiking path from Akkar in the North to Marjayoun in the South. The trail would connect mountain villages with the aim of encouraging rural tourism and contributing to the sustainable development of rural areas.

The Lebanon Mountain Trail project was conceived and is being implemented by ECODIT, a Lebanese environmental company, with $5.2 million in funding from USAID to implement projects aiming at boosting the tourism sector.

The LMT is to continue beyond the two-year lifetime of the USAID project through the establishment of the Lebanon Mountain Trail Association, which will comprise community groups, NGOs, municipalities, government agencies and private-sector groups.

The LMT Association will help its members continue the process of marking and restoring trails, renovating and equipping tourist facilities and attractions, and promoting sustainable tourism.

For this purpose ECODIT is working with US and Lebanese partners such as Liban Trek to establish the LMT as not only a hiking trail but also an example of responsible tourism.

"Trekking is essential. When you stay over night and you talk to the locals, you eat with them and you have a financial contribution to the community," said Moufarej.

The project encourages conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the mountains. Most of the trails that make up the LMT have been used for centuries and the LMT worked closely with local communities, seasoned trekkers and tour operators to determine the route.

These same individuals will play key roles in the long-term management, development and maintenance of the trail.

The LMT hopes to preserve the environment and to increase sustainable income streams for rural mountain communities by encouraging trail users to employ local guides, buy local produce and handicrafts, stay overnight in local guesthouses and camping grounds, help local farmers harvest their crops and participate in local festivals.

Conceived of prior to the summer 2006 war with Israel, at a time when Lebanon was anticipating its best tourist season ever, the LMT suffered several early setbacks, including a temporary pause in work on the trail until the cease-fire and the loss of three representatives from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy who were airlifted out of the country during the conflict. While the tourism industry in Lebanon has been struggling to bounce back from the effects of the war, work on the LMT has continued and now the trail is 90 percent "walkable." The LMT will be formally launched with the first complete walk of the entire trail this summer.

For more information about the Lebanon Mountain Trail project, please call +961 5 955 303 or visit www.lebanontrail.org