The Nature Conservation Center at the American University of Beirut (AUB-NCC) hosted on January 21th, 2017, the National Meeting on the Conservation of Plants and Important Plant Areas in Lebanon, in the context of the IPA-Med project.

It was an unprecedented occasion to gather many plant conservation stakeholders in this country. More than 50 people from an array of institutions (including the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Tourism, NGOs, Universities and IUCN Members) attended this workshop devoted to exchange and share information on plant conservation in Lebanon through four panels: mapping plant diversity, status and conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants, conservation in action, and civil society and conservation.

It was also an occasion to display participatory maps developed in collaboration between the AUB-NCC and municipalities which host many Important Plant Areas (IPAs) on their territory, focusing more specifically on the two IPAs Sannine-Kneisseh and Beirut-Jiyeh, which are the focus of the IPA-Med project in Lebanon.

Indeed, the IPAMed project is promoting wild plants and habitats conservation for people in 23 IPAs located in 9 countries in the South and East Mediterranean region. In Lebanon, the Nature Conservation Center at the American University of Beirut is conducting an innovating initiative, working with active participation of municipalities to identify and address key issues related with plant conservation into these two pilot IPAs.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact : Marcos.valderrabano@iucn.org