Joint Appeal of 52 organizations from 28 countries to the President of Lebanon

A group of 52 Lebanese and European Environmental NGOs and International BirdLife partners from 28 countries have signed an open letter asking President Michel Aoun to enforce the Peace Treaty between Man and Birds in Lebanon that he announced in April 2017. We ask that Law 580/2004 (hunting law) is enforced during the spring 2018 migration and at all times. We ask that shooting at protected species will be prevented. We ask that the sky over Lebanon will be made safe for storks and other migrating birds.

¨Now it is almost time for this year’s spring migration to start, we are deeply worried for the safety of the birds whose return to Europe we so eagerly await.¨ Signatories

Why is Lebanon important for birds:

Lebanon lies on one of the World’s most important migratory routes for many species of birds. Each year millions of birds pass through the country on their way to and from their breeding grounds in Eurasia and their winter feeding grounds in Africa.

Sadly, each year around 2.6 million birds are killed in Lebanon alone.

See: http://www.birdlife.org/sites/default/files/attachments/01-28_low.pdf