On January 18, 2024, the USAID Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) project launched “ReList,” the first mobile application in Lebanon for recyclables trading. DAWERR is a five-year activity implemented by ECODIT that is developing sustainable processes for composting organic waste, reducing the amount of solid waste that goes to landfills, and improving existing recycling efforts throughout rural areas in Lebanon. USAID/Lebanon Mission Director Julie Southfield, Lebanon Minister of Environment Dr. Nasser Yassin, and Director General of the Ministry of Industry Chantal Akl Sfeir attended the launch event, along with DAWERR’s local partners Berytech, Compost Baladi, and ECODIT Liban, the heads of partner municipalities, representatives from sorting facilities, factories, traders and exporters of waste, international organizations, and the private sector.

ECODIT is delighted to announce that USAID has selected its team to implement the Gender Leadership, Equity, and Advancement for Development (LEAD) program. LEAD will work with the Agency’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Hub (GenDev) to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment across USAID’s program cycle. Specifically, the program will provide technical assistance, forward-leading programmatic support, thought leadership, and knowledge dissemination in gender integration to USAID Missions and Bureaus across sectors and focus areas. This work will support the implementation of the 2018 Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act and USAID’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Policy. 

Over the next five years, ECODIT and its partners - Iris Group, Making Cents International, Population Reference Bureau, and the University of California San Diego Center on Gender Equity and Health - will provide comprehensive, adaptable, intersectional, trust-based, and locally led assistance options for expanding gender integration at USAID. Our team is deeply committed to realizing a more gender equitable future and brings specialized crosscutting and cross-sectoral expertise and strong capacity to implement LEAD. 

“ECODIT is excited to partner with GenDev and all of USAID to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. Our work with the Agency across sectors has long integrated gender to optimize development impact and sustainability. We applaud USAID’s commitment to gender integration and look forward to supporting Missions and Bureaus to turn this commitment into real action for sustained development results” said ECODIT President Roula Attar. 

LEAD is a task order under the GSA
OASIS Small Business Pool 1 IDIQ, a Best-In-Class solution for professional services that is available to all U.S. Federal Agencies. 

ECODIT is a U.S.-based women-owned small business with 30 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.

ECODIT is pleased to partner with USAID and the Natural Climate Solutions Division to develop a user-friendly, publicly accessible online tool to calculate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and carbon storage associated with Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU). The tool, which will replace the AFOLU calculator USAID developed in 2012, will facilitate reporting on standard USAID climate indicators, assist with activity planning, and align with the priorities of the USAID Climate Strategy 2022-2030. ECODIT will develop the AFOLU Calculator in partnership with major subcontractor Mathematica under a five-year task order from USAID. 

The AFOLU sector is responsible for just under a quarter of GHG emissions globally. The USAID Climate Strategy has ambitious targets, including mitigating 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) through USAID activities and country partnerships to support the conservation, restoration, or management of 100 million hectares with a climate change mitigation benefit. The new AFOLU calculator will help USAID achieve this and other targets by enabling staff and partners to plan, design, and track the impact of its programming on climate change more effectively.

The new AFOLU Calculator Tool will be flexible, usable, and accessible, with the potential of becoming a leading GHG emissions calculator resource for the wider AFOLU community. It will include geospatial user-interface and will have advanced reporting, monitoring, and planning capabilities. It will enable users to add, display and manipulate site- or activity-specific data and environmental characteristics, leveraging geospatial datasets. Users will be able to regularly report on, update, and monitor their projects and activities over time and at different scales. They will be able to estimate the future GHG emissions impacts of their projects and plan for future AFOLU interventions based on estimated projections of impact. ECODIT will use human-centered design to ensure that the tool comprehensively addresses the needs of its users.

To develop the AFOLU Calculator, ECODIT will draw on its long history of developing tools and programs to mitigate climate change. For example, ECODIT previously supported USAID in implementing the Agency’s Adaptation Plan and Executive Order 13677, developing resources that are now used throughout USAID to assess, evaluate, and address climate-related risks to USAID’s strategies, programs, projects, and related funding decisions through the USAID Climate Change Integration Support Activity. Through the USAID Green Annamites Activity, ECODIT worked with provincial governments, communities and the private sector in Vietnam to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 11.6 million tCO2e, boost incomes for more than 15,000 people, and mobilize more than $59 million in private sector funding for the environment. Also, under the USAID Lebanon Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity, which aims to divert organic waste away from landfills through composting, ECODIT developed a user-friendly, Excel-based calculator to estimate GHG emissions avoided (in tCO2e) thanks to the Activity.

“ECODIT is pleased to partner with USAID and the Natural Climate Solutions Division to create the new AFOLU Calculator tool to enable data-driven planning and help future AFOLU initiatives maximize their contribution to GHG emissions reductions,”  said ECODIT Executive Vice President Joseph Karam. 

ECODIT is a U.S.-based women-owned small business with 30 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

On August 17, 2023, the USAID Resilience through Accelerating New Community-Based Holistic Outcomes for Resource Sustainability Activity (Resilience ANCHORS) launched a partnership with Zimbabwean NGO Linkages for Economic Advancement of the Disadvantaged (LEAD) to support smallholder farmers in the implementation of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies; horticulture crop production and value chain development; and Non-Timber Forestry Products (NTFPs) commercialization in the Southeast Lowveld (SEL) landscape. This partnership will enhance Resilience ANCHORS’ work to improve sustainable natural resource governance, safeguard biodiversity, and build community resilience.

LEAD will develop value chains for a range of cash crops and liaise with private sector companies to support farmers’ access to markets and to strengthen rural agro-enterprises. The partnership will build on Resilience ANCHORS’ ongoing efforts in community-based natural resource management and climate change adaptation across the drought-prone districts of Chipinge, Chiredzi, Bikita, Hwange and Binga. It will support the project’s efforts to coordinate farmer groups within the same locality to form clusters that will participate in training and marketing. In addition, the partnership will facilitate interaction between farmers and private-sector partners. Nearly 7,000 farmers will benefit from the partnership, which also promotes locally led development in Zimbabwe.

USAID Resilience ANCHORS Chief of Party, Jeremy Swanson, welcomed the new collaboration, paying tribute to LEAD’s experience in increasing agricultural yields and livelihood opportunities for rural households and promoting farmers and private sector engagement for sustainable market-responsive economic activities.

“We are thrilled to partner with LEAD to enable greater numbers of farmers to overcome the challenges associated with climate change. Their adoption of climate smart agriculture strategies will lead to greater resilience among communities,” he said. 

LEAD will establish demonstration plots where farmer groups will learn by doing. LEAD Chief Executive Officer, Eliot Takaindisa, explained that the partnership is in line with the organization’s vision to build resilience, enhance food security, and advance enterprise development.

“We have an outstanding team ready to roll out activities and ensure that we promote village-level resilience along selected value chains,” he said. 

USAID Resilience ANCHORS is a five-year activity implemented by ECODIT focused on increasing the capacity of communities to sustainably protect and manage community-based natural resources and the wildlife economy. ECODIT is a U.S. women-owned small business (WOSB) with 30 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities around the world to advance inclusive environmentally- and socially- responsible development. LEAD has nearly 20 years of experience in transforming farmer groups into viable enterprises across Zimbabwe, and in strengthening their leadership and governance capacities. 

In Cambodia, ECODIT is working with a diverse coalition of actors—monks, celebrities, indigenous groups, journalists, private sector organizations, and more—to catalyze a dynamic youth movement in support of the environment. Specifically, for the USAID Cambodia Green Future Activity, ECODIT has launched and is implementing a countrywide social and behavior change communication (SBCC) campaign—the first of its kind in the country—that promotes positive behaviors related to biodiversity conservation, forest protection, and sustainable natural resource management (NRM).

This campaign is critically needed in Cambodia, where much of the land is covered by biodiversity-rich forests that are home to countless plants and animals, including endangered species. Hundreds of thousands of people make these forests their home, including many members of indigenous groups. But the forests and the animals, and the people who rely on them for their homes and livelihoods, are in jeopardy due to illegal logging, climate change, and other factors. The future of Cambodia’s significant biodiversity and its indigenous communities hangs in the balance. 

The USAID Cambodia Green Future Activity works to empower Cambodian citizens and civil society with the knowledge and skills to use evidence-based communication systems to influence positive actions to support biodiversity conservation, forest protection, and broad sustainable NRM. The project’s three-phased SBCC campaign seeks to raise awareness of small, doable actions that could make a big impact in protecting Cambodia’s environment. 

The campaign’s first phase focused on reducing demand for unsustainable luxury wood furniture, while its second phase focused on reducing bushmeat consumption, and its third phase focused on stopping littering. The Activity created SBCC toolkits for each target behavior with communications tips for conversations with family and friends, key message matrixes, and social media content, and trained youth on how to effectively use them. The Activity also organized events, coordinated social media and other outreach, and trained and supported journalists, youth leaders, and social media influencers to communicate with their audiences on these topics.

The campaign’s biggest impact to date has perhaps been the empowerment of youth as agents of change in their communities. ECODIT facilitated the formation of youth “Green Groups” across the country and supported and trained them to lead conversations and plan their own outreach activities on environmental issues. For example, the team conducted study tours for Green Group members to Cambodia’s biodiversity hot spots, where they visited wildlife sanctuaries and connected with local indigenous communities. During these visits, young people learned about the illegal logging trade and spoke with law enforcement officers, who showed them evidence seized from forest crimes. 

The Green Groups have made a significant impact on the environmental sector in Cambodia, and the youth have become outspoken voices on these topics, both online and offline. Recently, they participated in a forum with Mr. Michael Schiffer, Assistant Administrator of the USAID Bureau for Asia, and USAID/Cambodia Acting Mission Director Craig Hart, where they brainstormed and identified specific actions that youth can take to promote biodiversity conservation and forest protection. 

The efforts of these youth and other Activity stakeholders have had a ripple effect, and Cambodia has seen a marked increase in environmental knowledge, and in behaviors to protect natural resources. Moreover, based on the success of these initiatives, USAID and other donors are now exploring the launch of additional environmental SBCC programs in Cambodia—ushering in a sea change with the potential to protect Cambodia’s future and safeguard its progress.

This story originally appeared in the Council of International Development Companies newsletter.

Lebanon is famous for its Mediterranean views, sprawling mountains, and miles of countryside. But one problem threatens the natural resources, health, and prosperity of the country and its people: trash. Lebanon’s trash crisis began in 2015 when a large landfill site closed and dumping and burning waste on the streets became widespread, leading to civil unrest. Unfortunately, the country still lacks an integrated solid waste management (SWM) strategy. The situation became even more dire on August 4, 2020, when a tragic explosion at the Beirut port generated massive amounts of broken glass and other solid waste. To solve this problem sustainably, local governments, communities, civil society, and the private sector will need to come together to design and implement integrated SWM solutions. That is where USAID and ECODIT come in. 

In July 2020, USAID/Lebanon awarded ECODIT the Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity, a five-year, $15 million project that will establish sustainable and replicable integrated solid waste diversion and valorization solutions in rural areas of Lebanon. The DAWERR activity is part of the USAID/Lebanon Initiative to Deliver Essential Assistance and Services (IDEAS) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), a funding mechanism that addresses the challenge of improving essential service delivery through clusters of municipalities in partnership with the private and not-for-profit sectors.

ECODIT is implementing DAWERR with three local partners: (1) ECODIT Liban, ECODIT’s sister company in Lebanon, which implements environmental projects with development partners; (2) Compost Baladi, a social enterprise that enables the recovery of organic waste and its valorization via composting; and (3) Berytech, an NGO that helps develop and nurture startups. These organizations actively engaged in the project’s design phase and participated with ECODIT in the co-creation process under the IDEAS BAA. 

The DAWERR Activity is now working with local authorities and communities in seven municipalities to devise and pilot novel SWM solutions, and to enhance these by engaging private and public sector entities. For example, the Activity facilitated public-private partnerships (PPPs) between several municipalities and FabricAid, a Lebanese social enterprise that collects, sorts, upcycles, and redistributes clothes to disadvantaged communities. 

In addition to municipal pilots, the Activity is working to mobilize young entrepreneurs to contribute fresh perspectives and new solutions to SWM. The project launched a five-day “Ideathon” that convened Lebanese entrepreneurs and startups to learn more about SWM challenges in Lebanon, receive support from mentors and experts, and pitch creative SWM ideas to a jury of experts. The winners, Lebanese University Environment, a team of students that will make biochar from organic waste by pyrolysis to be used as fertilizer, and EcoFriendlyConcrete, an enterprise focused on replacing concrete constituents with recycled materials, will receive grants and technical support from DAWERR. 

The DAWERR Activity also worked with the Lebanese private sector and startups to develop the DAWERR Clearinghouse, an online platform for source-separated recyclables to match demand and supply while ensuring transparency across the solid waste Recycling Value Chains.

To launch the Clearinghouse, encourage participation, and foster innovation, the Activity held a four-day bootcamp in which private sector companies had the opportunity to network, receive coaching from local specialists, explore the market, and develop a valid business model for an e-commerce platform. At the end, entrepreneurs pitched ideas for online businesses to a jury that selected Live Love Recycle, a mobile application that connects people to recycling collection services; Nadeera, a social enterprise that designs rapid, fit-for-purpose, and citizen-centric SWM masterplans and deploys technology to support their implementation; and VerdeTech, Lebanon’s first full-service licensed recycling company, which will campaign to raise awareness on the problem of electrical and electronic waste. The Activity will provide financial and technical support to these winners to help them launch and sustain their products and services, while building up the Clearinghouse as a dynamic online platform.

“We are pleased with the results that our partnerships with local organizations are producing, both in terms of increased local capacity for effective SWM and positive impact on communities and livelihoods,” said DAWERR Chief of Party Jad Sakr. “What we have here is the potential for empowered communities and determined innovators to revolutionize SWM in Lebanon, and that is truly exciting.”

This story originally appeared in the Small Business Association for International Companies newsletter.

The USAID Lebanon Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity announced its second round of support to three new groupings of municipalities to improve solid waste management (SWM) services, thus diverting significant proportions away from landfills. USAID/Lebanon Mission Director Mary Eileen Devitt, Minister of Environment Dr. Nasser Yassin, Dr. Joelle Jandry representing Minister of Industry George Boujikian, and heads of municipalities of three selected groupings and DAWERR’s initial pilot projects, along with DAWERR partners Berytech, Compost Baladi, and ECODIT Liban, and representatives from international organizations in Lebanon and the private sector attended the event. 

The participating municipalities -- (1) Ansarieh, Loubieh, Saksakiye, Sarafand, (2) Ras El Matn, Deir El Harf, Qortada, (3) Anfeh, Bichmezzine, Fih, and Kfarhazir, in addition to DAWERR’s pilot projects in the municipalities of Baskinta, Batloun, Chanay/Majdel Baana, Jezzine, Qaraoun, and Rachaya El-Wadi --, along with their communities and their partners (e.g., non-governmental organizations, social enterprises, private sector entities) will receive tailored technical, financial, and business support to design, implement, and manage their activities. 

In her remarks, USAID Mission Director Mary Eileen Devitt stated, “A year ago, we launched partnerships with seven municipalities to promote user-friendly waste management approaches that balance the needs of the community and the environment. This year, we are building on this support by collaborating with 11 new municipalities to encourage better stewardship of Lebanon’s environment while generating much-needed income to support other essential municipal services.”

The event also marked the launch of the RELIST Application by Nadeera, the winner of the DAWERR Clearinghouse, a program that challenged innovative startups and small and medium enterprises to develop an e-commerce digital platform for source-separated recyclables. RELIST is an online recyclables marketplace that allows users to buy and sell directly. The winning startups of the DAWERR Ideathons 2021 and 2022 “Reconcrete”, “LU Biochar”, “RBNTech”, “Pulp” and “Eplastr” also showcased their winning prototypes and ideas at the event. Both Ideathons allowed young entrepreneurs and startups to compete in bootcamps and incubation programs to develop and present innovative solid waste management solutions. In addition to business support through workshops and clinics, the winners received USAID funding to support them in creating a prototype or enhancing a minimum viable product. 

DAWERR is a five-year, $15 million Activity implemented by ECODIT, which supports USAID/Lebanon’s work to develop sustainable processes for composting organic waste, reduce the amount of solid waste that goes to landfills, and improve existing recycling efforts throughout rural areas in Lebanon. By 2025, DAWERR anticipates diverting 55% of waste in the target municipalities and improving the quality of life for 300,000 people served by sustainable SWM systems in roughly 50 municipalities. The project will also establish 40 public-private partnerships to support improved SWM, create 100 sustainable full-time equivalent jobs in recycling value chains, and generate additional financial returns from composting and recycling. 

ECODIT is a U.S.-based women-owned small business with 29 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

ECODIT was awarded a prime contract for the Water and Development II IDIQ (WADI II), issued by USAID’s Center for Water Security, Sanitation and Hygiene (the Water Center) of the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security. The IDIQ will provide critical technical services in support of the U.S. government’s Global Water Strategy (GWS) and the USAID Water and Development Plan. The IDIQ has a ceiling of $400 million and a five-year ordering period, with a seven-year period of performance. Under the Small Business Set-Aside clause of the contract, all Task Orders (TOs) valued at $5 million or less must be set aside for small businesses, but small businesses are eligible to bid on unrestricted Requests for Task Order Proposals (RFTOPs) and Task Order Contracting Officers may set aside any task order of any scope or size to the small business holders of the IDIQ. More information on the IDIQ is available here.

ECODIT, a U.S.-based women-owned small business (WOSB), is an established USAID partner in the water sector and previously held a prime contract for the WADI IDIQ (WADI II’s predecessor). For example, in the Middle East, ECODIT implemented legacy USAID water projects like the Jordan Public Action Project (PAP), Jordan Small Communities Project (SCP), and Morocco Water Resources Sustainability (WRS) Project, and conducted a program evaluation of 17 regional USAID water, environment, and agriculture activities funded by USAID’s Middle East Bureau. More recently, from 2016-2021, for the USAID Water Communications and Knowledge Management (CKM) Project, ECODIT supported the Agency’s Water Center to raise awareness of its water programming and priorities and promote learning, harnessing creative communications tools to reach audiences around the world.

ECODIT’s team for the WADI II IDIQ includes DAI as a major subcontractor as well as 11 other subcontractors with demonstrated institutional capabilities implementing programs across the IDIQ’s statement of work and target geographic regions. Our team is currently working or has recently worked (over the past five years) in all 18 high-priority countries and the two strategic-priority countries identified by USAID for assistance in safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, in addition to all eight GWS-aligned countries. ECODIT alone has worked in 19 of these 28 countries.

“Water is vital to the health, well-being and livelihoods of all people, and water considerations impact nearly every sector of USAID programming. ECODIT is thrilled to continue to partner with USAID’s Water Center to safeguard this precious resource by drawing on its capable team and leveraging co-created and integrated approaches, diverse and effective partnerships, and continuous and iterative innovation,” said Joseph Karam, ECODIT’s Executive Vice President and WADI II IDIQ Manager.

To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

USAID/Sri Lanka and Maldives has awarded ECODIT the Monitor, Document, Evaluate, and Learn (MODEL) Activity. MODEL is a five-year, $7.2 million project that will advance USAID/Sri Lanka and Maldives’ learning agenda through inclusive, fact-based monitoring, evaluating, reporting, and outreach.

Through MODEL, ECODIT and its subcontractor, the Institute for Development Impact (I4DI), will provide services and build capacity in a wide range of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) functions for USAID/Sri Lanka and Maldives, including documentation for reporting and outreach. MODEL will facilitate learning, disseminate key development results and best practices, and recommend opportunities for programmatic adaptation.

“ECODIT is pleased to partner with USAID/Sri Lanka and Maldives to strengthen the Mission as a learning organization and to build local capacity to provide MEL services. We are excited to support USAID to enhance development results and to contribute to Sri Lanka’s development as a democratic, inclusive, and self-reliant Indo-Pacific partner,” said ECODIT President Roula Attar.

ECODIT is a U.S.-based women-owned small business with 29 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

ECODIT has recently been certified as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program.

This certification follows the appointment of Roula Attar as ECODIT’s new President starting in February 2022. Ms. Attar is a senior international development professional with more than 20 years of experience in project design, management, and implementation. She first joined ECODIT in 2011 and has since led business development, quality, communications, and outreach initiatives for the firm. Under her leadership, ECODIT was awarded new contracting mechanisms and projects that directly contributed to its notable growth in recent years, and successfully obtained ISO 9001:2015 certification in recognition of its strong quality management system.

Prior to joining ECODIT, Ms. Attar was the Lebanon Country Director for Search for Common Ground (SFCG), where she designed and implemented programs with Lebanese youth, the media, and the public sector, to help transform the next generation’s approach to conflict. Previously, she founded the field office in Jordan and managed programs for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) across the Middle East and North Africa region, leading multi-million-dollar democracy assistance programs in legislative strengthening, political party development, electoral support, civil society strengthening, and women’s and youth’s political participation. Ms. Attar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wichita State University and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.

“ECODIT is delighted to join the impressive pool of WOSBs that are contributing to sustainable development around the world. We look forward to leveraging our WOSB certification to forge new partnerships and make greater impacts across countries and regions,” said Ms. Attar.

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 29 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

We are excited to announce the appointment of Ms. Roula Attar as President of ECODIT. As President, Ms. Attar will focus on developing and leveraging the ECODIT team’s formidable talent base and extensive partnerships to grow the firm and increase its impact and global reach. Ms. Attar will expand the firm’s legacy of locally driven development and affirm its culture of internal and external collaboration that emphasizes mutual respect, accountability, and learning. “I am honored to work alongside amazing colleagues that uphold ECODIT’s mantra of ‘empowerment with quality’ and proud of the rich and productive partnerships that we have developed globally, regionally, and locally,” said Attar. “I am thrilled to be stepping into this new role as ECODIT President and look to the future with optimism and excitement.”

ECODIT co-founder and former President Joseph Karam will continue to play a leadership role as Executive Vice President, providing strategic support and overseeing administration, finance, and operations. “Roula has been a driving force behind ECODIT’s growth over the past decade. I have full confidence in her ability to take ECODIT to a new level on its exciting journey and look forward to working closely with her in her role as President.”

Ms. Attar is an international development professional with more than 20 years of experience in business development and in project design and implementation. She joined ECODIT LLC in 2012 and most recently served as its Vice President for Business Development and Outreach, developing and executing strategies to grow the firm’s business and overseeing quality assurance processes, knowledge generation and dissemination, and internal and external communication. Ms. Attar is a democracy and governance specialist with extensive experience in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including as Chief of Party (COP) for USAID projects. Previously, she founded the Jordan field office of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and led multimillion dollar democracy assistance programs in legislative strengthening, political party development, electoral support, civil society strengthening, and women’s and youth’s political participation. Ms. Attar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wichita State University and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.  

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 29 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

On November 2, 2021, the USAID Lebanon Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity hosted a delegation from USAID/Lebanon for a site visit. The delegation included USAID Regional Contracts and Agreement Officer Amy Mc Quade, USAID/Lebanon Local Development Office Director Claude Zullo, and USAID/Lebanon Program Development Specialist Sana Saliba. During the visit, the delegation met the DAWERR team, learned more about the project, toured a solid waste processing facility, and connected with DAWERR beneficiaries.

For the first part of the visit, the USAID/Lebanon delegation met with the three winners of the recent DAWERR Ideathon competition, entrepreneurs and startups that are now being supported to develop innovative solid waste management solutions across Lebanon. These entities are (1) LU Environment, which is making biochar from organic waste by pyrolysis, which will be used as fertilizer to reduce the production costs for agriculture; (2) Eco-Friendly Concrete, a startup focused on partial replacement of concrete constituents with recycled materials; and (3) Eco Match, which is developing a platform for materials to promote a circular economy by turning the waste of some into resources for others. These winning groups  will each receive an in-kind grant of up to $6,500 , as well as technical support through a two-month incubation phase at Berytech, a core member of the DAWERR team. 

In the second part of the visit, the delegation traveled to Batloun, a village in Mount Lebanon, where they toured the Batloun Material Recovery Facility and met with the mayor of Batloun and representatives of the Batloun Municipal Solid Waste Management Committee. DAWERR supported the establishment of this Committee and is collaborating with them, the Municipal Council of Batloun, and other stakeholders to implement a sustainable solid waste management pilot. 

“Batloun has a vision for improving its waste management, and the town has already launched initiatives for sorting at the source,” said Batloun Mayor Marwan Kays at the meeting. “With the help of the USAID DAWERR Activity, the municipality has developed an action plan for improving solid waste management. Our aim is to become a zero-waste town,” he added.

The USAID delegation valued the interactions with DAWERR beneficiaries and thanked the team for a well-organized visit. “USAID is a key partner in the pursuit of innovative and sustainable solutions for solid waste management in Lebanon, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the impact that USAID’s investments are already having in this sector,” said DAWERR Chief of Party Jad Sakr. 

USAID DAWERR is a five-year activity designed to improve the social, environmental, and economic well-being of Lebanese citizens through sustainable solid waste recovery and diversion programs. To learn more about DAWERR, view its page on the ECODIT website and follow it on Facebook and Instagram. 

ECODIT was awarded a prime contract for the Active Communities - Effective States (ACES) IDIQ, issued by USAID’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Rights, and Governance (The DRG Center) of the Bureau for Development, Democracy and Innovation (DDI). The IDIQ will provide technical assistance, advisory services, training, and direct program implementation to support host country good governance, transparency, and accountability. The IDIQ has a ceiling of $250 million and a five-year ordering period, with a seven-year period of performance.  ECODIT is one of ten prime awardees, including five small businesses. Under the Small Business Reserve clause of the contract, all task orders (TOs) valued at $5 million or less must be set aside for small businesses. Moreover, under the Small Business Exception, USAID may directly place TOs with any category of small or small disadvantaged business that received one of the IDIQ awards.

The ACES IDIQ will work to strengthen systems of accountability, increase linkages between formal and informal actors on specific issues, and support the integration of good governance into USAID programs in other sectors including health, education, and economic growth. Activities will focus on the following technical areas: (1) Good Governance and Anti-Corruption; (2) Strengthening the Legislative Function/Legal Framework; (3) Decentralization and Local Governance; (4) Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform; and (5) Strengthening Oversight Mechanisms.

“ECODIT has always integrated good governance considerations across its work in the water, energy, and environment sectors. We have extensive experience working with governments, civil society, the private sector, and communities, to implement reforms, increase operational effectiveness, boost accountability, and better serve constituents’ needs. We appreciate that USAID is making democracy and anti-corruption efforts a priority and look forward to partnering with the Agency to strengthen good governance around the world,” said Roula Attar, ECODIT Vice President for Business Development and Outreach.

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 28 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

USAID has awarded ECODIT the Liberia Land Management Activity, a four-year, $9.4 million project that will advance effective and inclusive management of communal land through land tenure processes and promote the formalization of land rights in Liberia, with special consideration for customary land rights and the rights of women, youth, and marginalized groups. The Activity was procured under the Strengthening Tenure and Resource Rights II (STARR II) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), a funding mechanism that allows for the provision of technical assistance to improve land and resource governance and strengthen property rights.

The Liberia Land Management Activity has the following four primary objectives: (1) to help communities obtain deeds to their customary land; (2) to help communities plan and manage customary land for productive use; (3) to help women, youth and other marginalized populations participate in and benefit from customary land management; and (4) to ensure land disputes and grievances are resolved appropriately through alternative dispute resolution.  Activities will include building the capacity of the Liberia Land Authority, civil society, and the private sector to support communities to secure land rights; facilitating the establishment and implementation of land use plans; developing the leadership capabilities of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups; engaging traditional leaders and men for improved and peaceful power-sharing; and promoting alternative dispute resolution for land disputes.

“ECODIT is excited to partner with USAID to further advance the Mission’s work to formalize land rights in Liberia and improve the lives of Liberian citizens, particularly those that are most marginalized,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam.

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 28 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

On July 22, 2021, the USAID Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity, a five-year, $15 million activity implemented by ECODIT, signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with six municipalities to improve solid waste management (SWM) through a set of pilot interventions. The MOU signatories included the mayors of the municipalities of Batloun, Baskinta, Chanay, Jezzine, Qaraoun, and Rachaya El Wadi, as well as DAWERR Interim Chief of Party Rachel Mallah.

The MOU signing ceremony was held in the presence of USAID Lebanon’s Local Development Office Director, Claude Zullo and Program Development Specialist, Sana Saliba, aas well as ECODIT President Joseph Karam and ECODIT’s partners Berytech, Compost Baladi, and ECODIT Liban. DAWERR and its partners committed to developing sustainable processes for composting organic waste and to improving existing recycling efforts. The Municipalities have already formed Municipal Solid Waste Management Committees to support the municipalities in implementing the pilot projects.

DAWERR is a five-year activity designed to improve the social, environmental, and economic well-being of Lebanese citizens through sustainable solid waste recovery and diversion programs with municipal unions, and/or clusters of municipalities throughout rural areas. DAWERR promotes the reuse, recycling, and monetization of solid waste as a sustainable way to reduce landfill use. Participating municipalities are selected through a rigorous evaluation and selection process. These municipalities, along with their communities and their partners (e.g., non-governmental organizations, social enterprises, private sector entities) will receive tailored technical, financial, and business support to design, implement, and manage the pilots. Eventually, DAWERR will replicate successful pilots and expand Integrated SWM solutions into other municipal unions. 

“Today we are signing the MOUs to reaffirm the partnership with the selected municipalities and engage with their local communities to design, implement and sustain solid waste diversion and valorization solutions that balance the need of the community and the environment with long term financial sustainability,” said DAWERR Interim Chief of Party Rachel Mallah at the event. “We will do everything we can to ensure that DAWERR will leave a legacy of enhancing local governance and SWM services, improving the health and quality of life of the Lebanese people, and creating sustainable jobs and livelihoods,” added Mr. Karam.

By the project’s end in 2025, DAWERR anticipates its activities will improve the quality of life for 300,000 people served by sustainable SWM systems in 18 municipalities and three unions of municipalities. The project will also establish 40 public private partnerships to support improved SWM, create 100 sustainable full-time equivalent jobs in the recycling value chains, and generate additional financial returns from composting and recycling.

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 28 years of experience working with governments, businesses and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. The firm has implemented several a number of environmental, water, energy, and livelihood projects, both in Lebanon and around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit http://www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. (Photo Caption: From left, ECODIT President Joseph Karam, DAWERR Interim Chief of Party Rachel Mallah, George Alam (Mayor of Baskinta), and USAID Lebanon Local Development Office Director, Claude Zullo; Photo Credit: USAID DAWERR)

The USAID Lebanon Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity is now accepting applications from Lebanese engineers, scientists, environmentalists, architects, creatives, innovators, entrepreneurs, and young professionals for an “Ideathon”.  The Ideathon will engage these innovators to devise and launch novel sustainable solid waste management (SWM) solutions and business models that place a premium on recycling, reusing, and reducing, and protect human health and the natural environment. Such solutions are greatly needed in Lebanon, where SWM has been addressed mostly through a series of temporary fixes and emergency plans, often marked by illegal dumps, open burning, and unsanitary landfills.

Applicants with potentially promising ideas will be invited to a five-day event, with workshops in which they will learn more about SWM challenges in Lebanon, clinics where they will receive support from mentors and experts, and one day of pitching to a jury of experts. At the conclusion of the five-day event, participants with the most promising ideas will be invited to participate in a subsequent incubation program, which will help the teams validate and launch their business ideas. They will receive robust support including in-kind grants of up to $6,500 to finance first steps such as market research, branding, product design, website development, and legal registration. Initiatives that prove viable after this initial incubation phase will receive additional business and technical support and grants of up to $25,000 to pilot and scale their solutions.

USAID DAWERR is a five-year, $15 million activity implemented by ECODIT that is establishing sustainable and replicable integrated solid waste diversion and valorization solutions in rural areas of Lebanon. Through DAWERR, ECODIT and its partners—Compost Baladi, Berytech, and ECODIT Liban—are supporting USAID/Lebanon to introduce financially sustainable solutions that increase the reuse, recycling, and monetization of solid waste and reduce the amount of “residual” solid waste that goes into landfills. ECODIT is building the capacity and commitment of municipalities to provide improved SWM services, empowering communities to sort at the source and participate actively in various stages of the recycling value chains, and developing successful business models with the private sector through initiatives such as the Ideathon, that create green economic opportunities. The results will be improved health and social welfare and expanded economic horizons.

“ECODIT has a long history of working with USAID Lebanon to protect the country’s environment and enhance local livelihoods. We are looking forward to working with a range of Lebanon’s best minds to find innovative, new SWM solutions that will put the country on the path to sustainable solid waste recycling and management practices,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam.

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 27 years of experience working with governments, businesses and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. The firm has implemented a number of environmental, water, energy and livelihood projects, both in Lebanon and around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook,LinkedIn, and Twitter.

In April 2021, ECODIT successfully closed out the five-year $15 million USAID Water Communications and Knowledge Management (CKM) Project. Since 2015, Water CKM has been supporting USAID’s Center for Water (formerly Water Office) and its partners to increase internal and external water sector program knowledge sharing and data collection, and to enhance communication and outreach to increase awareness of USAID water program activities and results. The project reached millions of people and increased water sector knowledge through original stories, case studies, evaluations, podcasts, social media, photo essays, and much more. 

Water CKM helped raise the profile of USAID’s water programming. Accomplishments included managing the @USAIDWater Twitter account, helping it more than triple its followers; publishing 142 articles and photo stories that garnered more than 114,000 views; and launching the Global Waters Radio podcast series. This pioneering series highlighted USAID’s thought leadership and technical expertise on a variety of topics including water security, WASH financing, sustainable sanitation, handwashing hygiene, and COVID-19, and brought in listeners from 120 countries.

One of the project’s top achievements was building the globalwaters.org platform. This website contains information on past and current USAID water projects, USAID water priority countries, and a host of resources including webinar recordings, reports, factsheets, blogs, and more. It became a recognized and sought-after platform among USAID water, sanitation, and hygiene and water resources management (WASH/WRM) practitioners, partners, and stakeholders for conveying and sharing information.  The project also completed a number of activities which facilitated knowledge sharing and learning among USAID stakeholders, including conducting a series of ex-post evaluations of USAID water projects, creating a database of all USAID water projects, producing a newsletter featuring the latest water research, and working with more than 20 partner organizations to produce 25 webinars on cutting-edge water topics with thousands of attendees. Through activities such as these, the project helped stakeholders engage with each other, learn from each other’s experiences, and work more effectively. 

“ECODIT is proud of its partnership with USAID on Water CKM,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam. “The project’s impact will be felt for years to come as its tools and resources go on to inform  USAID and its partners’ work in the water sector.”

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 27 years of experience working with governments, businesses and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development in more than 50 countries. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

In February, ECODIT closed out the USAID Green Annamites Project, USAID/Vietnam’s flagship environmental project in central Vietnam. Since 2016, this $24 million project has worked with provincial governments, communities, and the private sector in Vietnam to reduce emissions and deforestation; conserve biodiversity; boost incomes for local forest-dependent communities; and mobilize investment from the private sector for environmental initiatives. Activities included building the capacity of institutions and provincial governments to protect forests, reduce climate change, and manage biodiversity; supporting forest-dependent communities to engage in sustainable alternative livelihoods; establishing carbon markets; and facilitating partnerships with the private sector. The Project met or exceeded all of its targets, laying the groundwork for Vietnamese governments, communities, and businesses to continue working together to protect Vietnam’s natural resources. 

As a result of the project, Vietnam has reduced its emissions and conserved its unique and precious biodiversity. More than half a million hectares are now under improved management, and 11.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent have been reduced, sequestered, or avoided. Moreover, the country saw a lot of biodiversity achievements not captured by data alone. For example, in an event that was celebrated throughout the country, the country’s Elephant Habitat and Species Conservation Area saw the birth of its first baby elephant since its establishment—a sign that the environment there is now healthy enough to support the gestation and rearing of new baby elephants. 

The project also enhanced the prosperity of local communities by teaching them how to better manage natural resources and supporting them to adopt new environmentally friendly alternative livelihoods such as eco-tourism and handicrafts. As a result, more than 15,000 people saw their incomes rise.

However, the project’s most enduring legacy may be that it established a firm foundation for Vietnamese governments, nongovernmental organizations, businesses, and communities to continue working to increase resilience, incomes, and biodiversity far beyond the life of the project. Nearly 100 institutions now have increased capacity in climate change adaption and sustainable landscapes, and with project support, the government has designated areas of high biodiversity as protected areas or national parks. Moreover, the project succeeded in mobilizing more than $59 million in private sector investment from both large companies such as Ikea supplier Scansia Pacific and small agricultural and handicraft cooperatives—nearly three times its target. 

“The USAID Green Annamites Project is a strong example of ECODIT’s approach to sustainable development in action,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam. “We team up with a broad range of partners to lay the groundwork for durable, long-lasting change. You can see the impact of our work around the world.”

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 27 years of experience working with governments, businesses and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development in more than 50 countries. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

ECODIT is delighted to announce the appointment of Mr. Andriy Mitskan to oversee the firm’s energy practice. As Director of Energy, Mr. Mitskan will provide strategic direction and leadership to ensure ECODIT provides high-quality technical assistance and management consulting in the energy sector worldwide. With more than 20 years of professional experience in the energy industry, Mr. Mitskan has a proven track record of successfully designing, implementing, and marketing sustainable energy solutions in Central and South Asia, Caucasus, Eastern Europe, France, and the USA.

Mr. Mitskan most recently served as Chief of Party (COP) of the USAID Cybersecurity Project in Ukraine. Between 2017 and 2020, he served as COP of the ECODIT-implemented USAID Central Asia Energy Links Project— a $23 million program that strengthened regional energy, security, and cooperation in the region. In these roles, he was instrumental in delivering complex and politically sensitive technical assistance, managed international and local experts, advised government officials working in the energy sector, and built the capacity of key stakeholders.

“I am honored to return to ECODIT and join its senior leadership team,” said Mr. Mitskan. “I am excited about the opportunity to assist the firm at a strategic level and advance its energy portfolio, promoting social and economic development in the communities we serve.”

ECODIT is an American firm that fosters environmentally and socially responsible development around the globe. For 27 years, ECODIT has worked with governments, businesses, and local communities in more than 50 countries in the areas of water, energy, natural resource management, and governance.  To learn more, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

On August 11, the U.S. Government’s Power Africa initiative highlighted ECODIT’s work to expand electricity access in Niger in a blog post. The post detailed ECODIT’s work to bring electricity to one of the least developed countries in the world, through the Niger Mini-Grid Feasibility Study (MGFS).  MGFS is an important part of Power Africa’s work, which fosters partnerships among technical and legal experts, the private sector, and governments from around the world to increase the number of people with access to power. Power Africa aims to add 60 million new electricity connections and 30,000 new and cleaner megawatts of power generation to sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

From January 2019 to August 2020, MGFS worked with the Nigerien Agency for the Promotion of Rural Electrification (ANPER) to bring solar energy to roughly 100 villages in rural Niger. Niger has one of the lowest electrification rates in sub-Saharan Africa (14%), and less than 4% of rural Nigeriens have access to modern electricity services through the national utility. The Study assessed the viability of building and operating 69 mini-grids that utilize existing telecom towers in Niger as “anchor tenants” for electricity services. ECODIT led a consortium of partners, in coordination with ANPER, to perform a wide range of technical, economic, environmental, and regulatory analyses to facilitate the financing, construction, and operation of mini-grids and allow key partners to strategically leverage resources from bilateral, multi-lateral, and private sector actors for the development of mini-grids that could help electrify up to 20,700 households.

“ECODIT is delighted to be recognized by Power Africa for its efforts to bring clean energy to Niger,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam. “We look forward to a continued partnership with Power Africa to positively transform the energy sector in sub-Saharan Africa.”

ECODIT is an American small business with 27 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. The firm has implemented a great variety of energy projects, including the ongoing Power Africa Data and Technical Support Activity, that aims to improve data collection and reporting to enable Power Africa to better achieve its energy goals. To learn more about ECODIT, visit  www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded a prime contract to ECODIT for the One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Small Business (SB) Pool 1 Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ). This IDIQ allows for the provision of complex professional services to the various agencies that comprise the U.S. federal government.

The OASIS SB Pool 1 IDIQ has an ordering period from 2020 to 2024. The program spans many areas of expertise and mission space and multiple professional service disciplines, and allows flexibility for all contract types. Core disciplines of this IDIQ include program management services, management consulting services, scientific services, engineering services, logistics services, and financial management services. Areas of expertise include communication, compliance, defense, disaster, energy, environment, financial, health, intelligence, security, and transportation. To learn more about the OASIS SB Pool 1 IDIQ and ECODIT’s capabilities for it, please click here.

“ECODIT has extensive experience managing complex projects around the world,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam. “We are thrilled at the opportunity to leverage this experience to support flexible and innovative solutions for the U.S. federal government.”

Since 1993, ECODIT has worked with governments, civil society, the private sector, and local communities in more than 50 countries to promote environmentally sustainable development. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

On August 12, ECODIT President Joseph Karam and Kamil Wanna, Chief of Party of the ECODIT-implemented USAID/Lebanon Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity, accompanied USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa, USAID Lebanon staff and other USAID Implementing Partners on a tour of Beirut, Lebanon. During the tour, they surveyed the aftermath of the two calamitous explosions that took place at the Port of Beirut on August 4, killing more than 160 people, injuring thousands more, and devastating a large swath of the city.

ECODIT is assisting USAID in its emergency response to the explosions. Through DAWERR, ECODIT is supporting the safe collection and storage of broken glass and other solid waste that resulted from the explosions. “ECODIT is coordinating closely with the Chemonics-implemented USAID Community Support Program. The response will support the collection and sorting of broken glass and other recyclables in order to channel them through current or future recycling value chains in the country,” said Mr. Wanna.

DAWERR is a recently awarded five-year, $15 million activity that will work to establish sustainable and replicable integrated solid waste diversion and valorization solutions in Lebanon. The Activity will introduce financially sustainable solutions that increase the reuse, recycling and monetization of solid waste and reduce the amount of “residual” solid waste that goes into landfills. The results will be improved health and social welfare and expanded economic horizons for the people of Lebanon.

“ECODIT is privileged to support USAID Lebanon in its rapid response efforts to help the Lebanese people in the wake of the Beirut explosions last week,” said Mr. Karam.

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 27 years of experience working with governments, businesses and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. The firm has worked extensively with USAID/Lebanon to support clean water, rural tourism, environmental sustainability, and improved governance. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

USAID/Lebanon has awarded ECODIT the Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity, a five-year, $15 million project that will establish sustainable and replicable integrated solid waste diversion and valorization solutions in rural areas of Lebanon. The DAWERR activity is part of the USAID/Lebanon Initiative to Deliver Essential Assistance and Services (IDEAS) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), a funding mechanism that addresses the challenge of improving essential service delivery through clusters of municipalities, in partnership with the private and not-for-profit sectors.

Through the DWERR activity, ECODIT and its partners—Compost Baladi, Berytech, and ECODIT Liban—will support USAID/Lebanon to introduce financially sustainable solutions that increase the reuse, recycling and monetization of solid waste and reduce the amount of “residual” solid waste that goes into landfills. ECODIT will build the capacity and commitment of municipalities to provide improved SWM services, empower communities to sort at the source and participate actively in various stages of the recycling value chains, and develop successful business models with the private sector that create green economic opportunities. The results will be improved health and social welfare and expanded economic horizons.

“ECODIT has a long history of working with USAID to promote a more prosperous, healthy and environmentally sustainable Lebanon, including partnering with communities to establish the Lebanon Mountain Trail—Lebanon’s national long-distance hiking trail and a hub for rural tourism,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam. “We are thrilled at this opportunity to deepen our partnership with USAID/Lebanon to help improve livelihoods, health, and the environment.”

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 27 years of experience working with governments, businesses and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. The firm has implemented several SWM and livelihood projects, both in Lebanon and around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

In March 2020, a team from the USAID Green Annamites Project spotted a healthy 9- to 12-month-old baby elephant during a routine biodiversity inventory at the Elephant Habitat and Species Conservation Area, an elephant reserve set up by the Project in 2017. Green Annamites is USAID’s flagship environmental project in central Vietnam. It is implemented by ECODIT, in partnership with local government bodies, businesses, and NGOs.

Biodiversity conservationists and the Vietnamese people celebrated this development as a sign that the newly established reserve is leading to real change. This is the first baby elephant identified since the reserve was established in 2017, at which time the elephant herd consisted of just seven adult elephants. Elephants have a gestation lasting almost 2 years (22 months). Thus, this development shows that the reserve, which consists of 18,977 hectares, has provided a safe habitat for the endangered Asian elephant to successfully give birth to and raise a baby. 

This milestone is particularly important because of the status of elephants in Vietnam. Threatened by habitat loss and degradation, illegal wildlife hunting, and ivory trading, the Asian elephant population is declining steadily and is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. For many years, Vietnam’s Nong Son District in Quang Nam (QN) province has seen a dramatic decline in these majestic creatures. Today it is estimated that Vietnam has less than 100 wild elephants.

“ECODIT is devoted to preserving biodiversity around the world, especially in Vietnam,” said Jeremy Swanson, ECODIT’s Senior Manager for Natural Resource Management (NRM). “The new baby elephant serves as a beacon of hope for endangered elephant populations and is a testament to our commitment to building resilience and managing future conservation challenges.”    

The USAID Green Annamites Project works with provincial governments and local communities in Vietnam to protect wildlife populations, reduce forest degradation, strengthen conservation planning, and improve the livelihoods of forest-dependent people. The project has helped create alternative livelihoods for local communities, promoted a landscape approach to biodiversity conservation, built the adaptive capacity of government stakeholders and vulnerable communities to effectively adapt to climate change impacts, and mobilized more than $20 million in private investment toward the environment, sustainable landscapes, and NRM.

ECODIT is an American firm working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally- and socially-responsible development around the world. For 26 years, ECODIT has provided professional services through more than 250 projects/contracts to diverse clients in more than 50 countries in areas of energy, water, environment and NRM, as well as urban and local governance.

On December 12, ECODIT staff members joined more than 700 development practitioners, consultants, academics, and federal employees in Washington, DC for the 2019 Society for International Development Washington Chapter (SID-W) Annual Dinner. ECODIT was a Silver sponsor for this event, which is one of SID-W’s largest. The event opened with a networking reception, followed by a dinner and award ceremony, which spotlighted exceptional achievements in the field of international development. The evening culminated with an after-party for young professionals in development.

This year, Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever and Co-Founder/Chair of Imagine was presented with the award for Outstanding Leadership in International Development.  Polman has made a significant impact in the areas of corporate social responsibility, human rights, and sustainable development, and his achievements include contributing to the creation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Currently, as Co-founder/Chair of Imagine, Polman continues to address the global challenges of poverty and climate change.

“ECODIT is an institutional member of SID-W and a staunch supporter of the annual dinner,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam. “This event is a great opportunity to meet with like-minded people, explore new business opportunities, and learn about remarkable individuals driving transformative change in the international development sector.”

ECODIT is an American firm that promotes environmentally sustainable development around the world.  For 26 years, ECODIT has worked with governments, NGOs, the private sector, and local communities in more than 50 countries. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

On October 26, 16 ECODIT team members laced up their running shoes and joined thousands in Washington, DC to rally around Whitman-Walker Health’s (WWH) annual Walk & 5K to End HIV. WWH is a non-profit community health and wellness center which offers a broad range of services including mental health counseling, addiction treatment, and legal services to all in the DC metropolitan area, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS and LGBT healthcare. The health center was founded in 1978 to promote equality and inclusion, and to encourage everyone to love openly and lead healthy lifestyles.

For more than 33 years, the Walk and 5K to end HIV has raised funds in support of the center’s mission to “provide dependable, high-quality comprehensive and accessible health care to those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.” This year’s walk and timed run took place between 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM, and began and ended at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. The event opened with an energetic program of warm-up exercises and culminated with a post-walk celebration with food, prizes, and more.

This year’s fundraiser has raised more than $400,000 to date, and supporters can continue to donate until December 31, 2019, to help WWH reach its overall goal of $650,000. The annual fundraiser is a critical component of WWH’s work to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington, DC, where roughly one in every 20 adults are infected with HIV.

“A cornerstone of our work at ECODIT involves bringing people and ideas together to create a positive lasting impact on communities and their environments,” said ECODIT Vice President for Business Development Douglas Kerr. “We are proud to participate in this unique event that brings together individuals, NGOs, and corporations to ensure more members of our community have access to quality health services.”

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with experience working in more than 50 countries in the energy, water, environment, urban and governance sectors. For 26 years, ECODIT has worked with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development worldwide. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

USAID has awarded ECODIT the Power Africa Data and Technical Support Services Activity, a five-year project that will provide technical and data support to Power Africa, the U.S. Government initiative aimed at supporting economic growth and development by increasing access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Data and Technical Support Services Activity is being implemented under the Power Africa Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), which ECODIT holds as a prime contractor. The IDIQ allows for the provision of technical assistance and transaction advisory services to implement USAID’s energy activities across the continent.

Through this activity, ECODIT will support Power Africa to improve data collection and reporting, assess progress toward its goals, identify and vet new partners, build capacity, and advise on technology, power transactions, and other topics, in order to advance Power Africa’s 2.0 strategy. This support will enable Power Africa to better achieve its goals of bringing 30,000 Megawatts of clean new energy and 60 million new electricity connections to Sub-Saharan Africa.

“ECODIT is proud to be a Power Africa partner,” said ECODIT Vice-President for Energy Richard Edwards. “We look forward to supporting Power Africa to bring power to millions of people across the continent who currently lack electricity access.”

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 26 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. The firm has implemented a number of USAID energy projects around the globe. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

USAID has awarded a prime contract to ECODIT for the Energy II Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract (IDIQ). This IDIQ will promote sustainable energy development in the countries in which USAID works. ECODIT’s Consortium for the Energy II IDIQ includes eight subcontractors who will bring a strong and diverse array of capabilities to address the greatest energy challenges worldwide. ECODIT was one of three U.S. small businesses to receive this award.

The Energy II IDIQ has a five-year ordering period and an aggregate maximum ceiling of $500 million. The program will provide USAID Missions, regional Bureaus, and host country stakeholders and partners with technical assistance and capacity building to manage the legal, regulatory, policy, governance, operational, financial, economic, and transactional components of improved energy sector performance, and to strengthen the enabling environment for private sector investment. It also will include energy activities in the areas of agriculture and food security, economic growth and trade, democracy, rights and governance, education, climate variability and change, human population and health, social development and gender equality, disaster mitigation and response, reconstruction, environmental and natural resource management, and urban development.

“ECODIT has extensive experience managing complex USAID energy projects and providing training and technical assistance to governments, utilities, regulators, and businesses,” said ECODIT Vice President for Energy Richard Edwards. “We are looking forward to leveraging this experience to support USAID to increase access to clean, reliable energy around the world.”

ECODIT has a proven record supporting USAID’s energy programs worldwide, including in the Caribbean, Central America, Central and South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. ECODIT’s work in the sector has led to increased energy trade, improved legal and regulatory frameworks, increased financing for clean energy, and improved enabling environments. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

ECODIT President Joseph Karam presented at a panel on tourism at the Lebanese Diaspora Energy (LDE) North America convention held in Washington, DC during September 20-21,2019. Mr. Karam was speaking in his capacity as the President of the American Friends of the Lebanon Mountain Trail (AFLMT). AFLMT is a non-profit organization that promotes educational programs, environmental protection, natural and cultural heritage conservation, and rural economic development around the Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT), Lebanon’s first and longest long-distance hiking trail. The LMT was established by ECODIT with support from USAID from 2006 to 2008.

After showing the 2018 short movie “Hike It, Protect It” produced by the LMT Association (LMTA), Mr. Karam spoke about the amazing values of the trail, particularly its importance in connecting the Lebanese Diaspora with the homeland, saying, “The Lebanon Mountain Trail offers you an opportunity to reconnect with your origins, to discover or rediscover the heart of Lebanon! You will gain experiences that will stay with you for the rest of your life. And you will want to return again and again, and tell your children, family and friends to go to Lebanon and walk on the LMT!” He invited the audience to consider joining the LMT Thru Walk that takes place each year in April, or the annual Fall Trek in October. LMT events like this bring sustainable job and income opportunities to marginalized mountain regions of Lebanon and encourage local communities to conserve their natural and cultural heritage.

Mr. Karam initially conceived of the idea for a long-distance trail when he returned to his home country Lebanon after the civil war. He was inspired by his time living in America and hiking the Appalachian Trail to establish a similar trail in Lebanon, with the aims of promoting rural tourism, empowering rural communities, rebuilding the country in the aftermath of the war, and promoting healing and reconciliation. He subsequently received funding from USAID to establish the trail and later on the LMT Association (LMTA), a Lebanese NGO that protects, maintains, and promotes the trail. The trail is now lauded as a success story for public diplomacy and a symbol of post-war reconciliation. It attracts more than 25,000 visitors each year and provides livelihoods to guesthouse owners, tour guides, and other entrepreneurs in the 76 villages and towns along the trail.

During the convention, the AFLMT exhibited LMT materials, including pins, flyers, magazines, and books at a dedicated booth manned by Mr. Karam and the Ambassador of the LMT in Canada, Ms. Wafaa El-Osta. Convention participants dropped by the booth and inquired about the AFLMT’s programs and activities, including Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil, who spoke about the positive ripple effects of the LMT, including the beautiful trails and guesthouses that are coming to light in his own home province of Batroun. Mr. Karam’s participation in the LDE North America conference reinforces Lebanon President Michel Aoun’s embrace of the LMT last March as a national trail for the Lebanese people and Lebanon.

ECODIT continues to be an avid supporter of the LMT. In addition to its support to the AFLMT, the firm has provided thousands of hours of pro-bono expert advice and technical support to the LMTA, including for coaching and mentoring of LMTA staff; assisting with networking efforts at national, regional and international levels; and providing technical assistance to proposal writing and events organizing.

USAID has awarded ECODIT the Cambodia Green Future Activity, a five-year project aimed at mobilizing communities to conserve biodiversity and protect natural resources. The activity is a key component of USAID’s work to protect Cambodia’s unique and endangered natural resources, which include a variety of forests, valuable plants and trees, and a number of threatened wildlife species.

Cambodia Green Future will provide Cambodian citizens and civil society with the knowledge and skills to influence positive actions to support biodiversity conservation, forest protection, and broad sustainable natural resource management (NRM). 

ECODIT and subcontractor FHI 360 will employ best practices from their pioneering work in NRM, community engagement, and social and behavior change communications (SBCC). The Cambodia Green Future team will increase awareness and catalyze action via strategic campaigns in social media, radio, television, community events, and other methods. Cambodia Green Future will collaborate with a wide range of partners, including women, youth, and indigenous groups, and civil society organizations (CSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and government bodies with environment-related mandates.  

While national in scope, Cambodia Green Future will continue the legacy of USAID’s efforts to strengthen capacities among the communities around the Prey Lang forest and Eastern Plains, areas that have a number of active critical projects, such as the USAID Greening Prey Lang Activity. ECODIT will foster a community of practice for those active in Cambodia’s environmental sector and mobilize funding for environmental advocacy from the private sector. 

“ECODIT is proud to deepen its partnership with USAID while working to safeguard Cambodia’s biodiversity and improve its prosperity,” said ECODIT President Joseph Karam. “We look forward to harnessing our years of expertise in NRM and SBCC to advance USAID’s goal of strengthening sustainable and resilient pathways out of poverty in Cambodia.”

ECODIT is a U.S.-based small business with 26 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. The firm has implemented a wide range of complex NRM and communications and knowledge management (CKM) projects, including the ongoing USAID Vietnam Green Annamites Project, which works with provincial governments to protect Vietnam’s significant biodiversity, improve land use practices, help local ethnic minority communities to diversify and improve their livelihoods, and mobilize private sector resources for conservation and livelihood initiatives. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

On August 15, 2019, Afar Magazine, one of the top travel magazines in America, spotlighted the Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT). ECODIT established the LMT– and its side trail the Baskinta Literary Trail (BLT) – with support from USAID during 2006-2008.

The article describes how ECODIT President Joseph Karam returned to his home country Lebanon during and after the country’s civil war and was inspired by his time living in America and hiking the Appalachian Trail to establish a similar trail in Lebanon, with the aims of promoting rural tourism, empowering rural communities, rebuilding the country in the aftermath of the war, and promoting healing and reconciliation. It further describes how ECODIT managed to receive funding from USAID to realize the LMT and establish the LMT Association (LMTA) to protect, maintain and promote the trail. The magazine calls the trail a “national treasure” and quotes Gilbert Moukhaiber, an ecotourism pioneer and also a former member of the ECODIT LMT project team, as saying that “through the trail, we are rebuilding what the civil war tore apart.”

The LMT is a 293-mile trail that connects shepherd and agricultural routes with ancient Phoenician and Roman footpaths. It comprises 70 culturally diverse mountain towns, two biosphere reserves, four nature reserves, and five protected areas. As part of the project, ECODIT recruited and trained staff, volunteers, and champions, established 11 family-owned guesthouses, upgraded two historic town squares, and built several other facilities for visitors, including three picnic areas, a campsite, and an open-air amphitheater/cultural park as part of the Baskinta Literary Trail (BLT). The trail now sees tens of thousands of visitors each year and is a source of livelihoods for local communities and a point of local and national pride. Earlier this year, the LMT was officially endorsed by Lebanese President H.E. General Michel Aoun at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

ECODIT is proud of its lifetime partnership with the LMTA, and Mr. Karam serves as the President of the American Friends of the Lebanon Mountain Trail (AFLMT). ECODIT has provided thousands of hours of pro-bono expert advice and technical support to the LMTA, including for coaching and mentoring of LMTA staff; assisting with networking efforts at national, regional and international levels; and providing technical assistance to proposal writing and events organizing.