13. Cedars Of Lebanon: C. Conservation
Description
This article is from the Lebanon FAQ, by Alaa Dakroub dakroub@leb.net with numerous contributions by others.
13. Cedars Of Lebanon: C. Conservation
SPNL believes that, despite the many dangers still facing the
existence of the Cedars of Lebanon, if swift action is taken, the
species can still be saved and may flourish again. If we can get
these forests to be declared as protected areas and prevent both
people and goats from trampling around, together with continuous new
plantings of cedars around existing forests, then we may still be able
to make them regenerate themselves.
Efforts have increased in recent years to preserve and expand
the existing cedar forests in Lebanon. Among the most important of
these developments are the following:
1- The establishment of a new Ministry of the Environment in
Lebanon in 1993, as a result of pressure from many
non-government organizations (NGO's), is a good beginning. But
it is only a beginning.
2- A new association called the Society for Arz El-Chouf, whose
objective is to preserve the cedars of the Chouf mountains,
has been established in early 1994 by Minister Walid Junblat.
3- SPNL and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) have proposed, in
late 1993, a project to be funded by the United Nations
Development Programme's (UNDP) Global Environmental Facility
(GEF), in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, to
establish a new department of wildlife and protected areas in
Lebanon. The objectives of this department will be to
safeguard biodiversity and natural ecosystems in Lebanon
through the establishment of a system of national parks and
protected areas.
Three areas have been selected to start this project, namely:
a- Barouk Forest
b- Ehden Forest
c- Palm Island (off the coast of Tripoli)
The Ministry of the Environment still has to make a decision
and take necessary action to make this project reality.
4- SPNL and the Lebanese government have requested the World Heritage
Committee (WHC) of UNESCO to nominate the main cedar forests
of Lebanon as historic sites of international importance. A
visit to Lebanon by Mr. Jim Thorsell of WHC was sponsored by
SPNL in April 1993 to study this proposal. But we still await
further action by The Ministry of the Environment to bring
this idea into actuality.
5- In the meantime, SPNL is conducting a campaign to plant new
cedar trees. To this end, SPNL welcomes financial
contributions for planting cedar trees in various areas where
Cedrus Libani already occur in Lebanon.
SPNL will plant one cedar tree in your name against a
contribution of only 30 U.S. Dollars.
Please contact us at the following address for further
information:
SPNL
P.O. Box 11-5665
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel.: (01)-343740/342701/344814
Fax : (961-1)-603208
Telex: 20179 SARI LE
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