Aref Kodeih

Captain Aref Tannous Kodeih

الكابتن عارف طنوس قديح

from Ghowaya parish - Kobayat

Real Media: aref.rm

Aref Kodeih won the Award of the International day for the Eradication of Poverty

The United Nations General Assembly has declared the 17th of October of each year “The International day for the Eradication of poverty”.

Lebanese Captain Aref Kodeih has won the award for this year’s theme “working together for a better environment” in appreciation of his dedicated struggle for the well-being people and their environment. Kodeih was selected among numerous nominees from Asian countries and received his award on October 30 in a ceremony that was held in New York.

A press conference for this purpose took place at the UN House on 22nd of October 2002 within the framework of the UN week activities. During the conference, Mr. Kodeih explained to the media his experience in nature conservation and displayed pictures of villages and exceptional sites where he operates.

Captain Kodeih is a retired Lebanese officer who became fully dedicated to the conservation of Nature since 1978. He founded an environmental NGO the Kobayat council in 1988. The activities of his group have expanded to reach the most deprived villages of Akkar. Through the council, Kodeih was able to attract technical and financial support to rehabilitate several woodlands, among them the Qammoua forest.

He organized regular visits to raise local and International awareness of Lebanon’s rich environmental resources and their needs.

UNDP is commemorating the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2002 with the presentation of the Poverty Eradication Awards at the United Nations in New York on 30 October. The awards honour six individuals helping to eradicate poverty in their communities through grassroots programmes promoting environmental awareness. The initiatives have helped improve and preserve the environment and provide better livelihoods for their communities. Special recognition will also be given for a unique contribution to the campaign against HIV/AIDS. The awardees are:

Aref Kodeih is a nature lover. After 30 years as an outstanding pilot in the Lebanese Air Force, he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to his passion-protecting the environment in Lebanon.

Mr. Kodeih, 75, has pioneered several initiatives, some of which have paved the way for new legislation to improve the local environment in the Akkar region in Northern Lebanon. Some 400,000 indigent people there are benefiting from his efforts.

In 1988, Mr. Kodeih founded the Kobayat Council for Environment whose projects have since raised environmental consciousness in many communities, highlighted issues of land degradation and launched income-generating enterprises such as eco-tourism. UNDP has expanded its own support of these projects by helping to organize visits by donors to the forest in Akkar, connecting Lebanon to possible funding sources. UNDP is also assisting with a rural development programme focused on jobs creation.

Mr. Kodeih spreads his knowledge through the Lebanese Union for the Protection of the Environment, which encompasses 48 associations from different regions in the country. His enthusiasm and advocacy are the driving force for the conservation of natural resources in Lebanon. Realizing that youth are the hope of the future, he has targeted much of his advocacy efforts at environment conferences in universities; he also gives talks to school children. His numerous supporters say that participating in one of his long nature walks through the Akkar Valley is to be moved by both the fragility and the beauty of Lebanon's green heritage.

Aref Kodeih honoré par le PNUD

Le 30 octobre 2002, cinq personnes, qui ont consacré leur vie à la lutte contre la pauvreté en se basant sur des programmes de sensibilisation à l'environnement, ont été honorées au siège des Nations-unies à New York. Parmi celles-ci, un Libanais, le Capitaine Aref Kodeih.

Au siège des Nations-unies, le capitaine Kodeih entouré de Mark Brown (à gauche) et Kofi Annan.

Le Secrétaire général de l'Organisation, Kofi Annan, s'est joint à l'Administrateur du Programme des Nations-unies pour le Développement (PNUD) Mark Malloch Brown pour la cérémonie de remise des sixièmes prix annuels. Depuis 1997, le PNUD dirige une campagne annuelle visant à éradiquer la pauvreté. Le thème retenu cette année, «Agir pour assurer l'avenir de la Terre», a été parfaitement illustré par les réalisations du capitaine Kodeih, soulignant les relations qui existent entre l'environnement et la pauvreté.

Dans la forêt de Karm Chbat, Aref prie pour les cèdres du Liban

Lors de la cérémonie, un film, montrant l'action de Aref Kodeih, a été projeté devant les officiels et le public. Trois minutes pour illustrer 24 ans de don de soi, de générosité Depuis qu'il a quitté l'armée en 1978, Aref Kodeih sillonne les forêts du Liban. Au cours de ses randonnées, il est confronté à la pauvreté des habitants isolés dans la montagne et souffre de la dégradation que l'homme inflige à son environnement. Il invite les gens à marcher pour leur faire découvrir les richesses du Liban, ses 1823 espèces de fleurs, ses 47 espèces d'arbres, ses 31 forêts de cèdres et les sensibiliser à la pauvreté. Chacun aidera dans la mesure de ses possibilités. Les malades rencontrés sont soignés, opérés Les bergers sont mis à contribution: l'un éloignera ses bêtes pour permettre aux champs de boutons d'or de proliférer, un autre sera chargé d'encercler un plant de pivoines en voie de disparition pour permettre sa reproduction. Convaincus par le capitaine de l'importance de leur environnement, ils deviendront ses plus fidèles supporters. Arbres coupés, carrières illégales, le capitaine est prévenu. Alors la machine se met en marche. Les amis, les municipalités, les ONG, les organisations internationales et les ministères sont mobilisés. Et les résultats ne tardent pas à se concrétiser : des forêts sont classées réserves naturelles, des carrières sont fermées, les «coupeurs» d'arbres arrêtés, la première tour de surveillance des incendies est construite

En 1998, Aref Kodeih regroupe des médecins, professeurs, ingénieurs... hommes et femmes de toutes religions, pour fonder le Conseil de Kobeyat pour l'environnement. Le but de l'association: «S'occuper de l'homme et de ce qui l'entoure, travailler ensemble pour un meilleur environnement». Le conseil s'élargit ensuite à tout le Akkar, une des régions les plus pauvres au Liban. 400000 habitants de la région bénéficient de ces efforts. Il ne s'arrêtera pas là. Profitant de l'occasion, il demande aux médias libanais de le soutenir dans sa «révolution de l'amour et de l'environnement», pour montrer la beauté et la richesse du Liban. Sa prière à Dieu: «Protège le Liban, les 31 forêts des cèdres».

IFS News
Poverty Eradication Awards - October 30, 2002
Chairman Bob Smith and Creative/Art Director Chuck Davidson both attended the ceremony for the Poverty Eradication Awards at the United Nations in New York City. The IFS encourages our members to learn more about the honorees' efforts by visiting the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) website at UNDP.org. This years honorees were Edi Rama, Maqsood Sinha and Iftekhar Enayetullah, Grace Dotou, Pablo Sandor, Aref Kodeih, and John Dempsey.

New York, 28 October, 2002: On 30 October, 2002, six people who have dedicated their lives to the fight against poverty will be honoured at the United Nations. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will join Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), at the sixth annual Poverty Eradication Awards ceremony to honour the five awardees from developing countries. Also to be honoured is John Demsey, President of M·A·C Cosmetics and founder of the M·A·C AIDS Fund, who will receive a Special Recognition award for his leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS and his efforts to eradicate poverty.

The ceremony is part of a larger UNDP initiative to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which, this year on 17 October, was commemorated in nearly 100 countries throughout the world. People hosted fund-raisers for orphanages, taught special sessions in elementary schools, recited poems, organized soccer playoffs, presented concerts and simply took time out of their days to honour the global fight against poverty. This year's theme, Taking Action to Secure Earth's Future, underscores the link between environment and poverty.

The ceremony, a UNDP initiative, marks the sobering reality that there are more than one billion people living on this earth on less than US$1 a day. The core of UNDP’s mission is eliminating poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015. With one out of five of the world's people living on less than a dollar a day and 56 percent of the developing world lacking the most basic sanitation, achieving this goal has never been more critical.

The awardees are recognized as outstanding examples representing the five continents where they have dedicated their lives to leading the fight against extreme poverty. Candidates were carefully evaluated and selected through UNDP’s global network of country offices. This year's honourees include:

Aref Kodeih, Founder of the Kobayat Council for Environment in Lebanon. Mr. Kodeih has pioneered several initiatives, some of which have paved the way for new legislation to improve the local environment in the Akkar region in Northern Lebanon. Some 400,000 indigent people here are benefiting from his efforts. In 1988, Mr. Kodeih founded the Kobayat Council for Environment whose projects have since raised environmental consciousness in many communities, highlighted issues of land degradation and launched income-generating enterprises such as eco-tourism.