SPNL – Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon organized collaboratively with LCEC – Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation a one-day conference on “Birds and Energy” on Tuesday 23 August 2022 at Bossa Nova Hotel – Sin El Fil. The conference was attended by more than 30 participants from ministries, Electricite de Liban, and private companies related to solar and wind energy.
The conference started with a welcoming session from the directors of LCEC and SPNL, Mr. Pierre Khoury and Mr. Assad Serhal respectively. The morning session covered several topics providing an overview of the current status in Lebanon, including the Ecological importance of Lebanon presented by Ms. Bassima Khatib, Head of Nature Conservation Department, SPNL; followed by a historical overview of the state of powerlines in Lebanon presented by Mr. Ramzi El Dobeissy, EDL; and the state of renewable energy in Lebanon & role of LCEC presented by Mr. Hady Abou Mousa, LCEC.
The afternoon session dwelled into more details regarding the impact of energy on migrating birds. It started with a presentation from Osama Al Nouri, projects Manager, BirdLife International, on Birds and Energy Infrastructure; This was followed by Mr. Tris Allinson, Senior Conservation Scientist, BirdLife International clarifying the potential tools for reconciling birds and Energy Infrastructure. Ms. Rhiannon Niven, Global Climate Change Policy Coordinator, BirdLife International, presented the CMS Energy Taskforce, a global policy platform, and the importance of joining it. The last session National Guidance on Energy – Impact on migratory birds was presented by Mr. Elie El Haddad, Research and Conservation Manager, SPNL which showed that a balance can be reached between Energy infrastructure and the needs of migratory birds if precaution and mitigation measures are taken into consideration.
SPNL and BirdLife’s position was clear that Energy and migratory birds can co-exist taking into consideration the needed mitigation measures.
