The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) has taken another step toward strengthening the links between nature conservation, cultural heritage, and higher education through a fruitful meeting at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK).
The meeting brought together Mr. Antoine Dahdah, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Design, and Mr. Antoine Zaarour, Head of the Department of Restoration of Antiquities, with Assad Serhal, General Director of SPNL, André Bechara, Head of the Homat Al Hima Programme, and Mr. Sarkis Khawaja, SPNL Hima North Lebanon Coordinator, to discuss a potential long-term partnership focused on the Homat Al Hima Programme.
The discussions explored opportunities to integrate architecture, heritage conservation, landscape restoration, and community-based environmental stewardship into academic curricula and field-based learning. The proposed collaboration would create valuable opportunities for students, researchers, and faculty members to engage directly with Lebanon’s Hima sites, contributing their expertise to the conservation of both natural ecosystems and cultural heritage.
The Homat Al Hima Programme is one of SPNL’s flagship youth initiatives, designed to nurture a new generation of environmental leaders. Through specialized training, participants develop practical skills in biodiversity conservation, eco-guiding, sustainable agriculture, habitat management, citizen science, leadership, and community engagement, empowering them to become guardians of their local Himas and ambassadors for sustainable development.
Since reviving the traditional Hima approach in 2004, SPNL has worked to reconnect people with nature through a community-led conservation model that combines traditional stewardship with modern conservation science. The organization’s mission is rooted in protecting biodiversity while empowering municipalities, youth, women, farmers, and local communities to become active custodians of Lebanon’s natural and cultural heritage.
A partnership with USEK would represent a natural extension of this vision, bringing together academic excellence and practical conservation. By engaging students and professionals in architecture, restoration, heritage conservation, and related disciplines, both institutions aim to develop innovative approaches to safeguarding Lebanon’s landscapes, historic sites, and living traditions through the Hima model.
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to further develop this promising collaboration. Additional details and joint initiatives under the Homat Al Hima Programme will be announced in the coming months.
