Natural areas in Lebanon explained

Forests cover 13.6% of Lebanon, and other wooded lands represents 11%.^[1] Since 2011, more than 600,000 trees, including cedars and other native species, have been planted throughout Lebanon as part of the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI).^[2] More reforestation efforts are needed. For example, the 40 hectares of Cedrus libani at Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve could be expanded to 3,000 hectares.^[3] The Friends of the Cedar Forest Committee planted 200,000 cedars, with 180,000 surviving.^[4] The Committee goal was to create a corridor connecting the cedar forests o of Bcharre, Ehden, and Tannourine with each other to create an ecosystem in order to make the forests more resilient to future environmental pressures.^[5]

Natural areas of Lebanon include:

• Aammiq Wetland, an area of marsh in the Beqaa Valley
• Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve, an area of cedar forest around Barouk
• Benta'ael, a national park area in the mountains above Byblos
• Horsh Ehden, a cedar forest north of Ehden
• Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab), the remains of an ancient Lebanese cedar forest containing some of the oldest extant Cedar trees of the country.^[6]
• Jabal Rihane, a nature reserve in the Rihane mountains of south Lebanon
• Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve
  • Palm Islands Nature Reserve, small islands near Tripoli Qammoua protected area, a grove of cedars, Cilicica fir and junipers in Akkar, North Lebanon
• Jaj Cedars, an area of cedar forests in the Byblos District area.
• Tyre Coast Nature Reserve, a Ramsar site in Southern Lebanon.
• Abraham River gorge, a valley in the Byblos District.
• Tannourine Cedar Reserve, a cedar forest in the mountains above Byblos.
• Wadi Jhannam, a ravine in North Lebanon.
• Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley), a UNESCO's World Heritage Site consisting of steep valleys with a longstanding monastic history.^[6]
• Yammoune
• Mount Hermon^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Forest and landscape restoration in Lebanon . Sundance Institute . 29 April 2016 . 24 May 2018.
2. Web site: Restoring Lebanon’s cedar forests . Share America . 10 January 2017 . 24 May 2018.
3. Greipsson, Sigurdur Ph.D. Restoration Ecology, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Kennesaw State University, 2011, page 279
4. News: Chehayeb . Kareem . Lebanon's Christians feel the heat of climate change in its sacred forest and valley . 24 December 2023 . Earthbeat, National Catholic Reporter . 8 December 2023.
5. News: Cartier . Catherine . Interfaith Collaboration to Save Lebanon's Cedars . 24 December 2023 . Pulitzer Center . 24 September 2019.
6. Web site: Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab) . . 8 Jul 2015.
7. Web site: Mount Hermon Becomes Lebanon’s Newest Nature Reserve . the961.com . 5 January 2021 .