Wings & Waves Newsletter April 2017

SPNL’s Wing & Waves Newsletter April 2017

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The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, in collaboration with the municipality of Kherbet Kanafar, invites you to celebrate the “World Migratory Bird Day” under the patronage of Mrs. Claudine Aoun Roukoz, special advisor of the President, in the West Bekaa Country Club.

Husein Ali Zorkot a field Biologist, Naturalist, Researcher and Scientific Illustrator at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon is working on a set of upcoming guides.

As a follow-up to the recent letter from Patricia Zurita Chief Executive Officer of Birdlife International to Mrs. Claudine Aoun Roukoz, the Special Advisor to His Excellency General Michel Aoun, a meeting was held in the Presidential Palace in Baabda.

BirdLife International, a network of conservation organisations in 119 countries around the world – together with our Lebanese partner The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) – is delighted with the recent major developments regarding the protection of birds in Lebanon, especially the recent announcement by His Excellency President General Michel Aoun declaring a bird-friendly era in Lebanon.

President Michel Aoun launched a new awareness campaign to protect migratory birds that cross through the Lebanese sky during the current season.

May I congratulate you on your statement regarding the need to halt the excessive killing of migratory and resident birds in Lebanon and your general call for a greater respect for your country’s environment.

Mr. Vokic from the small Croatian village Brodski Varos takes care of the female stork Malena, whose wing was shot by hunters, for the last 25 years. Malena can’t fly south during winters so Mr. Vokic has built her a nest on the roof and a winter home in his garage.

GHASSAN RAMADAN-JARADI, FOUAD ITANI & ASSAD SERHAL

In Lebanon, Cramp & Simmons (1983) considered the species extinct, but a review of all bird papers and reports available 1878– 2007 indicated that there are 10 records of 27 individuals by 7 observers in that period (see Ramadan-Jaradi et al 2008).

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon – SPNL represented by Bassam Alkantar, SPNL’s Media Campaigner participated in The Delos Initiative fourth workshop held in the Franciscan Retreat House of Porziuncola in Malta from 24- 26 April 2017, in cooperation with the University of Malta – Institute of Earth Systems.

10 of the world’s 18 species of penguin are threatened with extinction. Discover where they live, and the threats they face, in this illustrated list of the world’s species

Over 800,000 migratory songbirds were killed on the UK-owned military bases in Cyprus last Autumn – to fuel criminal trade for a local delicacy. With local efforts to stem the slaughter floundering, the UK Government has delivered an official response to an online petition

In a next round of UN climate change negotiations, nations are meeting from 8 – 18 May 2017 to further develop the guidelines needed to fully implement the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement now and over the decades to come.

Have you ever asked yourself, “what kind of tree is this?” Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has – 60,065 times.

“Wetlands that help us cope with extreme weather events” was the theme of the Wetlands Youth Photo contest, organized by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands from 2 February to 2 March 2017.