{"id":1100,"date":"2021-04-30T22:25:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T22:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/?p=678"},"modified":"2023-07-07T07:08:07","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T07:08:07","slug":"article-mount-hermon-whats-next-for-lebanons-newest-nature-reserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-rawiya.com\/ar\/article-mount-hermon-whats-next-for-lebanons-newest-nature-reserve\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Hermon: What\u2019s Next for Lebanon\u2019s Newest Nature Reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Lebanon\u2019s identity resides largely in the uniqueness of its geographical location and the diversity of its landscapes. From the thin coastal plain to the summits of Mount Lebanon, from the Bekaa plateau to the Anti-Lebanon mountain chain, this strong sequencing of landscapes is exceptional for such a small country. Its geography is part of the country\u2019s fundamental wealth, one that should be the basis for rich territorial planning and sustainable local development.

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Instead, this wealth is disregarded because of visionless development. Not only are master plans largely absent, but regulatory frameworks, when they do exist, are limited zoning plans that do little more than tell how much to build and where. In these documents, forests, agricultural lands, terrasses, shorelines, summits, valleys, and hillsides are not valued or recognized; they are indifferently slated as buildable land, under zones for residential, industrial, or touristic development. \u201cThe unbuilt\u201d is viewed as voids to ultimately fill. Occasionally, the Lebanese authorities announce the creation of nature reserves to protect areas of high ecological importance. These reserves, however, cover limited parts of Lebanon\u2019s rich environment and fail to address the complex challenges facing the country\u2019s natural resources.

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As a result, unregulated urban sprawl has disfigured much of the territory. Corruption, negligence, and lack of leadership have worsened this phenomenon and much has been lost in the process. Yet a lot remains that can still be preserved, provided an adequate regulatory framework is established with a political will driven by public interest. The region of Jabal el-Cheikh (Mount Hermon), is one such area. 

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A Region on Lebanon\u2019s Borders<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The region of Jabal el-Cheikh centers around Mount Hermon and spans across two districts, the Caza of Rachaya and that of Hasbaya, along Lebanon\u2019s south-eastern border. Though the majority of Mount Hermon is situated on Lebanese territory, about half of its slopes are divided between Syria, the Occupied Golan, Occupied Palestine, and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) buffer zone.

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It is a 90km drive from Beirut, up and down Mount Lebanon and across the Bekaa. In an excessively centralized country such as Lebanon that tends to neglect regions far from the capital, it stands disconnected from the dynamism of Beirut.  Furthermore, fenced by rows of hills, it is not a point of passage and stands relatively secluded. Its location along a highly sensitive border with conflicting countries also contributes to a form of marginalization \u2013 though the region has been peaceful since the retreat of the Israeli Army in 2000.

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An Opportunity for Sustainable Development<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Is it because of this multifactorial isolation and potential instability that the region of Jabal el-Cheikh did not undergo the urban development that occurred in most other Lebanese regions? Is it because of some particularly strong cultural identification to local landscapes, a closer relationship with land and agriculture, or demographic and socio-economic factors? Whatever the causes, the region of Jabal el-Cheikh has maintained the integrity of its natural environments, which have been mostly protected from chaotic urbanization, large-scale pollution, or quarrying activities. Its landscapes, exceptional in their diversity, also carry some of the richest cultural and archaeological heritage of the country.

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Though the region also faces vulnerabilities that threaten its current state of conservation, it also offers a major opportunity to anticipate and act before major damage is inflicted upon it. It is thus pressing to establish adequate policies and protective measures that are necessary for its preservation and to implement them with proper public action before it\u2019s too late. Jabal el-Cheikh has the potential to become a visionary precedent for sustainable regional development in Lebanon. 

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