Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon – SPNL is one of the oldest environmental NGOs in Lebanon. It was established in 1983 under the Lebanese Laws, and licensed by the Ministry of Interior by decision no. 6/AD dated 8/1/1986.

SPNL is the national partner for BirdLife International in Lebanon. It considers birds as entry points for the conservation of wider natural resources, as they act as key indicators of the status and health of ecosystems.

Ever since its establishment in 1986, SPNL advocated the establishment of protected areas and initiated with the Ministry of Environment the protected areas in Lebanon. After twenty years of experience working with nature reserves through government agencies, SPNL is now reviving and advocating the Hima community based conservation approach that has been prevalent in the Arabic region for more than 1500 years.

SPNL has a long experience in scientific research (mainly avifauna and biodiversity), education and awareness, advocacy and networking, and community development.

As a national environmental NGO in Lebanon, SPNL has widely contributed to both raising awareness on environmental issues and concretely protecting natural areas in Lebanon. As a member of the World International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), SPNL has helped develop the first biodiversity project in Lebanon, known as the Protected Areas Project. SPNL has established the Environment Information Center (EIC) that serves as a key resource for the provision of environmental information to students, teachers, and researchers in this field.

As the BirdLife International partner for Lebanon, SPNL is engaged in bird conservation mainly through building capacities of protected areas managers from the whole country on bird identification; through the Important Bird Areas program that aims at identifying sites and habitats essential for bird conservation; and through conservation site action projects.

Mission

SPNL, the BirdLife national partner in Lebanon, aims at protecting nature, birds and biodiversity in Lebanon and to promote sustainable use of resources with people through reviving the concept of Al Hima. As a national environmental NGO in Lebanon, SPNL contributes to both raising awareness on environmental issues and concretely protecting natural areas in Lebanon.

SPNL bases its work on sound science and passionate commitment, which through transparent and democratic processes, leads to a well-informed public.

SPNL strives to advocate a better quality of life for people and nature, through conserving sites, protecting species, and assuring sustainability.

Strategy

SPNL works in a cooperative manner to fulfill its mission statement, i.e., in partnership with its partners, government institutions, municipalities, local community, other NGOs, associates and the private sector.

SPNL strives to trigger advances in strengthening capacities and influence. Its strategy revolves around four fundamental building blocks for promoting sustainable development:

Sites & Habitats
Species
People
Sustainability