The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is working on a “Regional Initiative for Promoting Small – Scale Renewable Energy Applications in rural areas of the Arab region (REGEND)”. This regional initiative is a Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) funded project and aims to improve the livelihood, economic benefits, social inclusion and gender equality of Arab rural communities particularly marginalized groups, by addressing energy poverty, water scarcity and vulnerability to climate change and other natural resources challenges in four targeted countries, including Lebanon.
 
Within the framework of the Project REGEND, ESCWA is organizing, in collaboration with the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) a Focus Group meeting where a Baseline Study is launched to address the socio - economic and political dynamics and environmental consideration linked to productive activities by sector, gender disparities, access to energy services requirements and availability of sources of energy supply, and associated technologies needed to support resilience in rural areas.
 
This meeting will permit to collect data and information at the rural level of Lebanon, determine the role of the stakeholders in the task force teams and identify the opportunities, challenges and constraints for achieving social and economic equity and gender equality in the targeted areas of Lebanon.