Activites

Relevant IBA activities conducted by SPNL over the last two years include:

• SPNL in partnership with A Rocha-Lebanon (an international conservation NGO working in Lebanon) conducted two training courses on Bird Identification for local people at the four internationally recognized IBAs in Lebanon.
• SPNL in partnership with A Rocha-Lebanon worked on the production of a Bird Identification Training Manual in Arabic.
• SPNL in partnership with Lebanese Adventure (a major eco-tourism company in Lebanon) developed an Arabic manual on Eco-Tourist Guiding at Natural Sites, and the partners have jointly trained guides from the local communities at several IBAs.
• SPNL facilitated the adoption of Bed & Breakfast concept around nature reserves and IBAs in Lebanon, such as in Tyre Coast Nature Reserve, Al Shouf Cedars Nature Reserve, Ebel es-Saqi, so as to promote local benefits from conservation
• SPNL establish three bed & breakfast facilities in "Ebel es-Saqui" where by two of them provide rooms with the local community while the last is a private facility offered to visitors, families or group of friends.
  

Through the exchange program, SPNL achieved the following:

• SPNL organized in partnership with RSCN an eco-Tourism trip to the protected areas in Jordan in October 2003. Thirty six people involved in the protected area management representing NGOs, the MoE and municipalities participated in the visit. The aim of the visit was to exchange experiences in terms of protected area management and income-generation activities.
• SPNL was the first NGO in the WWF NGO network to host experts from Greece, Turkey, and Spain. The aim of the visit was to exchange experiences especially in the areas of Wetlands.

SPNL carried out numerous activities in 2004, namely:

A community-based conservation project was initiated in Ebel es-Saqi, a village in the south of Lebanon- in partnership with Mercy Corps Lebanon. This was done, after discovering through our research of potential IBAs (Important Bird Areas) in Lebanon that this village lies within a bottle neck or constriction highway through which migrating birds pass, which makes it an ideal bird watching site. SPNL started to search for ways by which to make use of the village's 38 hectare forest, along with the surrounding area that is bordered on the east side with the Hasbani River, and characterized with beautiful scenery from all sides. The driving idea that propelled the project was engaging the local community, itself, to sustain this eco-touristic project by initiating a site-support group.

The theme was to construct a site that satisfies all the requirements from eco-tourism facilities to human resources capacity building (i.e. guides, bird identification). Several workshops and training sessions have been completed:

• Lebanese Adventure provided an introductory training course on guiding techniques in nature for a group of local people in Ebel es-Saqui village. These guides will later on be responsible for visitor's tours.
• In late September 2004 and in partnership with A Rocha-Lebanon, three day training on bird identification was offered to the same group so that they could be familiar with their local and migrating birds.
• Stanford Research Institution (SRI), provided training for 6 local women on basic management of Bed & Breakfast facilities in Ebel es-Saqui village through its Discover Lebanon Program.
• On the 9th April 2005, SPNL and Euronature/DBU organized the 10th AEWA Anniversary in KfarZabad village
• SPNL in partnership with Mercy Corps, the municipality and the local community in Ebel es-Saqi village organized the World Bird Festival celebrating the Miracle of Migration on 2&3 October 2004 and 8 Oct. 2005 two consecutive years.

2005- 2006

• WBF
• AEWA
• SHP
• Hope Campaign
• Towars a marine Hime