Hunting is a social hobby that is embedded in our culture, and transferred through generations. Unfortunately, with the hunting ban issued in 1995, a new generation of shooters has evolved that does not respect nature nor birds.
Hunters shoot on anything that flies over Lebanon, regardless of species, season, time, tools,…..leading to the killing of 2.6 Million birds annually according to the BirdLife regional study done in year 2015.
SPNL contributed a lot along the years in developing awareness and educational material, and in developing the hunting law & its application decrees. Now, we reached the stage of law enforcement, through the opening of the hunting season in September 2017 for the first time after 22 years; but the Ministry of Interior & Ministry of Defense who are responsible for the hunting law enforcement declared that it is not a priority for them. Based on that, SPNL suggested the following in order to support law enforcement:
Promote Responsible Hunting Areas – RHAs in Lebanon where hunting would be restricted to these areas under the management of municipalities within the hunting law & its application decrees.
Partnership with Committee against Bird Slaughter – CABS / UNEP in order to identify violations in collaboration with the Internal Security Forces – ISF, and follow up with Ministry of Justice.
Under the Migratory Soaring Birds project stage I, funded by GEF, SPNL highlighted 12 objective criteria for the identification of RHAs in collaboration with UNDP and Ministry of Environment. Based on that, 8 RHAs has been identified in Lebanon, and endorsed by their municipalities.
Under the Migratory Soaring Birds project stage II, funded by GEF, in collaboration with Balamand University, Institute of the Environment, SPNL developed an online interactive map to highlight all potential RHAs in Lebanon regardless of land tenure. Kindly explore this interesting tool at this link.
