Upon the invitation of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) and the municipality of Kayfoun, the Minister of Culture Mohammad Murtada paid a visit to the town Kayfoun and inaugurated SPNL’s Mount Lebanon Hima Center, also known as the (also known as the Luc Hoffman Hima Home). He also toured the historic castle of Kayfoun and inaugurated the town’s Quranic garden, which was created on land declared a natural Hima by Kayfoun municipality.
SPNL Director General Asaad Serhal, who is also a member of the Birdlife International council, welcomed the minister, praising the cooperation between SPNL, the ministry, and the municipality in order to perpetuate the concept of heritage and the environmental Hima, which aims to consolidate the values of peace, tolerance, and balance between human needs and nature conservation. Serhal stressed the establishment of SPNL’s work centers and a team to serve five projects planned with the municipality of Kayfoun, led by the guardians of the Hima program in Kaifoun and neighboring villages, the Biblical and Quranic gardens project in the towns of Shamlane and Kaifoun in the short term, and the Hima farm project, the restoration of the castle and creating solar power in the medium term, from 3 to 5 years.
Kayfoun mayor Bilal Saad, thanked everyone and stressed the joint work between the municipality, SPNL, and the ministry of culture to serve the town of Kayfoun, create job opportunities, and conserve the natural and cultural heritage.
Minister Mortada promised to care for everything that sheds light on the cultural and environmental heritage of the town of Kayfoun and its surroundings, especially the ancient Kayfoun castle and the establishment of a village museum for the hima and the natural and cultural heritage in the building of the Mount Lebanon Hima Center. He stressed the importance of the Homat al Hima program on Lebanese territory to prepare a conscious generation with real capacities in the field of cultural and environmental heritage preservation.
Dr. Hani Al-Shaer, the West Asia director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) stressed the placement of all the IUCN’s capabilities at the disposal of the Hima vision and the establishment of purposeful projects as soon as possible. The Minister was accompanied by the director general Ministry of Culture, consultants, experts in archeology, and professors at the Lebanese University.
The visit concluded with a lunch held in honor of the guest, with the participation of a delegation from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) headed by Dr. Hani Al-Shaer, the mayor of Kayfoun and members of the municipal council, the mayors of the towns of Shemlane and Ain Al Jadida, the Kayfoun Charitable Association, the authority of the Kayfoun endowment (Waqf), the town’s notary and other personalities, as well as the Homat al Hima from all Lebanese regions.
