Ghadi News

The Lebanese National Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) participates in the activities of the 20th Anniversary of the IUCN-Mediterranean Office in Spain

The National Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, represented by its President Fadi Ghanem, Vice President Nizar Hani and Mr. Asaad Serhal, participated in the activities of the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the Mediterranean Office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in Malaga - Spain, along with a large group of partners, experts and supporters.

The celebration included multiple dialogues on international and regional cooperation to protect nature and biodiversity in the Mediterranean region, and meetings were held on financing mechanisms, economic development for countries and local communities, governance and management.

Ghanem

The National Committee of the Union in Lebanon was actively present, where the Chairman of the Committee, Fadi Ghanem, congratulated the office on its activity. In his speech, he said: I thank you for this kind invitation, and I congratulate you on your twentieth anniversary, wishing you lasting success. Ghanem added: We in Lebanon, and through the National Committee, are working on integrating with our surrounding, especially with our friends, colleagues and partners in the Union, and we are ready to cooperate in all programs that concern and unite the Mediterranean countries. Ghanem continued: We are directly interested in promoting environmental media, and making it a platform to enhance interaction and participation among all of us, in order to achieve our common goals, and to raise environmental issues in our country in a scientific manner.

Hany

The director of the Chouf Cedar Reserve, Nizar Hani, presented the experience of the reserve, in two dialogues. The first revolves around the importance of cooperation at the level of the Mediterranean basin, and the second dialogue on the available financing mechanisms, and how to develop them, in order to ensure the sustainability of the management of the reserves.

Serhal

The Director of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon, Asaad Sarhal, participated in a dialogue on the protection of nature and peace, and presented the experience of Lebanon.

Mubarak

The President of the International IUCN, Ms. Razan Mubarak, congratulated the Mediterranean Office in Malaga and said in a recorded interview that she is happy to be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of IUCN-MED, and the Mediterranean always been the dearest to her heart, especially Lebanon in the east, Spain in the west, and Morocco, Egypt and Indonesia in the south. She also emphasized that each country has its own culture and beauty. She noted the commitment of the State of Spain, especially the efforts of Vice-President Teresa Rivera, to renew the cooperation treaty between Spain and the IUCN that was concluded in November 2021. Mubarak continued: Spain's cooperation in this dedicated form and with this confidence strengthens and allows IUCN-MED to maintain its important role in the region.

The program included a field visit to the Sierra de las Nieves National Reserve, the shared border biosphere reserve with Morocco. The National Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Lebanon also met with Ms. Teresa Ribera, Vice President of Spain and Minister of Environmental Transformation and Demographic Challenge. The committee also met the IUCN Committee in the Netherlands and Britain, and it was agreed on cooperation and follow-up in the near future, especially everything related to strengthening the committee administratively and financially. It was also agreed to revive the cooperation agreement, signed with the Union Office for the Mediterranean.

Ghanem had presented on behalf of the National Committee, shields of appreciation, to each of Ms. Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of Spain and Minister of Environmental Transformation and Demographic Challenge, Director of the Bureau of IUCN-MED, Mr. Antonio Troya, Director of the Program for the Protection of Species and Reserves at IUCN-MED, Mr. Maher Mahjoub, and Adviser to the Executive Council of North Africa, Ms. Iman Melian, as well as the representative of the Director-General of IUCN, Ms. Enrica Gretel.

It is noteworthy that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the largest federation in the world, bringing together governments, research centers, experts, civil society institutions and environmental associations, with the aim of preserving nature and its biodiversity.