Lebanon: A 'poor' country rich in biodiversity

In the past 3 years, Lebanon’s name has constantly been associated with terms such as political corruption, poverty, and pollution due in most parts to extreme economic crisis the country has been enmeshed in since 2019.

In the past 3 years, Lebanon’s name has constantly been associated with terms such as political corruption, poverty, and pollution due in most parts to extreme economic crisis the country has been enmeshed in since 2019. You will be shocked to know that Lebanon, which was once known as “Switzerland of the Middle East” is one of the wealthiest countries by means of biodiversity. This small country located at the far eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, occupies only 0.007% of the world’s land surface, but is home to 1.11% of the world’s plant species and 2.63% of reptile, birds and mammal species, and its sea is home to about 1,790 species, representing almost 2.7% of the world’s marine species. Thus, despite its limited area that reaches only 10,452 Sq. Km, it holds about 9,116 known species, 4486 of which are fauna and 4360 are flora, scattered over five geomorphological regions, which include high mountains, rivers, and coastal lands.  This rich biodiversity is a result of different factors: Lebanon’s location on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea surely granted it many environmental privileges. Moreover the various human civilizations that settled in the Lebanese territories also had an important effect in enriching its biodiversity.  However, this privilege of biodiversity that is granted to Lebanon is heavily threatened by human activities, especially with the increasing rates of poverty.  Take for example the phenomena of illegal harvesting of trees. The prices of the fuels used for heating increased hysterically over the past three years, as a substitute, citizens, especially those living in the mountain areas where poverty is highly concentrated, resort to cutting trees to provide a heating system for their families in the frigid winter season, some even ignite fires in the forests for the same purpose of providing wood for heating, for free. Another threat to the country's biodiversity is the illegal hunting of various animals, and especially birds: Lebanon is located on one of the world’s key migratory bird corridors, unfortunately these migratory birds as well as the avian birds are constantly killed by hunters all year round, despite the fact that the ministry of environment has specified limited seasons in which hunting of specific species of birds is allowed.  Citizens also resort to hunting wild animals for different purposes, some consider this as a hobby, while others see hunting wild animals and selling the preys a good source of income particularly with the low rate of wages that ordinary jobs offer. The situation of marine species aren't any better, as they are also harmed by illegal practices such as overhunting, and using dynamite for fishing, in addition to the pollution being wrecked in most of the Lebanese seas and rivers. From all the facts stated above, we conclude that the challenges in Lebanon lie in the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, caused in the first place by the lack of awareness and knowledge of the tragic consequences of these human actions on our environment. And on the second hand, the absence of the state’s prestige and enforcement of laws promotes illegal actions which are gradually destroying Lebanon’s biodiversity. Therefore, the solution to this environmental crisis is in the hands of the state that should work on spreading awareness, and above all, invoking its authority while enforce its laws.