The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) is proud to participate in the BirdLife International Global Partnership Meeting and Global Flyways Summit, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2026. The quadrennial gathering brings together BirdLife Partners, scientists, conservation practitioners, policymakers, financial institutions, businesses, and community leaders from around the world to strengthen international collaboration for nature conservation and climate action.
As the BirdLife Partner in Lebanon, SPNL will showcase the Hima approach as an internationally recognized, community-led model that empowers local communities to conserve biodiversity, protect cultural heritage, and sustainably manage natural resources. Rooted in traditional stewardship and adapted to modern conservation challenges, the Hima model demonstrates how local governance and community participation can deliver lasting environmental and social benefits.
The BirdLife Partnership represents 124 conservation organizations working across 119 countries, engaging more than 18 million people in collective action to conserve birds, their habitats, and the ecosystems on which both nature and people depend. The Global Partnership Meeting serves as a unique platform for Partners to exchange experiences, strengthen collaboration, and develop practical solutions to halt biodiversity loss, prevent species extinctions, restore critical habitats, and address the global climate crisis.
Throughout the meeting, SPNL will contribute Lebanon’s experience through a series of sessions highlighting the Hima approach as a practical model that can be adapted across the region and beyond.
On 8 September, SPNL will present how the success of the Hima approach in Lebanon can be shared and replicated in different countries. The session will focus on community stewardship, participatory governance, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and the sustainable management of natural resources, while encouraging knowledge exchange among BirdLife Partners.
On 9 September, SPNL will deliver a 60-second message emphasizing the urgent need to strengthen community stewardship through the Hima approach as an effective response to accelerating biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, and climate change.
On 10 September, SPNL will lead a session entitled “Hima for Peace,” exploring how community-conserved landscapes can become platforms for dialogue, cooperation, resilience, and reconciliation. The session will demonstrate how empowering local communities to manage shared natural resources can help build trust, foster peaceful coexistence, and create hope in regions affected by conflict and environmental pressures.
SPNL’s participation reflects its longstanding commitment to advancing community-based conservation beyond Lebanon’s borders. By bringing the Hima experience to BirdLife’s global network, SPNL aims to inspire wider adoption of locally led conservation solutions that benefit both people and nature.
The meeting will be followed by the Global Flyways Summit, where BirdLife Partners, governments, development banks, philanthropic organizations, and civil society will explore innovative financing, regional cooperation, habitat restoration, and nature-positive development pathways to protect migratory birds and the ecosystems they depend upon.
Through its active engagement in Nairobi, SPNL reaffirms that the Hima is not only Lebanon’s conservation heritage—it is a forward-looking model capable of contributing to global efforts to conserve biodiversity, strengthen communities, and build a more resilient and peaceful future.
When nature is protected by communities, both people and wildlife thrive.
