Yesterday, a pivotal meeting took place between Assad Adel Serhal—Founder & Chairman of Homat Al Hima International (HHI), Director General of SPNL, and BirdLife International Global Councillor for the Middle East—and Malek Ghandour, President of the Lebanese Environment Forum, with Dr. Ali Ramadan, Head of the Directorate General of Urban Planning at Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
Why the Meeting Matters
The core focus: formal classification of Hima areas across Lebanon’s coastal zones and mountainous landscapes. This aligns with SPNL’s long–standing mission to revive and institutionalize the traditional Hima approach—a centuries-old communal system for sustainable land use—now recognized as a vital conservation tool.
Key Discussion Points
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Coastal Hima Zones: Recognizing and legally designating coastal wetlands and islands as official Hima sites would help secure vital habitats for migratory and resident bird species.
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Mountainous Hima Sites: Extending the classification into high-altitude ecosystems to protect forests, watershed areas, and biodiversity hotspots rooted in local cultural practices.
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Policy & Legal Integration: The discussion underscored the need to integrate Hima designation into national urban planning guidelines, in line with Law 130/2019, which recognizes Hima as a formal category of protected areas.
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Community Ownership: Reinforcing SPNL’s model of placing municipalities and community stakeholders at the helm of Hima management—a proven approach in more than 28 operational Hima sites across Lebanon.
Impact in Motion
Formal recognition of these Hima zones would unlock several benefits:
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Enhanced protection for key ecosystems—especially wetlands, river basins, and forested ranges visited by migratory birds.
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Empowerment of local communities as stewards of conservation.
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Alignment with national and global goals like the 30 × 30 target to protect 30% of land and water by 2030.
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Strengthened collaboration between government planners and nature conservation champions.
A Shared Vision for Lebanon’s Future
The meeting marks a significant turning point. It reflects a growing recognition within governmental circles that heritage-based, community‑driven conservation deserves institutional backing—not only moral but legal and administrative.
As a champion of the Hima system, Assad Serhal reaffirmed SPNL’s commitment to scaling up through training, technical support, and integration with official land‑use planning frameworks.
Looking Ahead
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Finalizing the legal classification of new Hima zones across coastal and mountainous regions.
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Drafting regulatory guidelines that embed Hima principles into urban and environmental planning.
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Launching pilot projects where coastal and alpine Hima zones are implemented and managed by local councils.
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Strengthening awareness among planners, environmental officials, and citizens about the ecological and cultural significance of Hima.
This dialogue between SPNL leadership and urban planners marks a promising step toward bridging Lebanon’s traditional land‑use wisdom with modern planning imperatives. Through this synergy, Hima can evolve from tradition into national policy—protecting biodiversity, heritage, and sustainable livelihoods.
